Morphology features and sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene were analyzed of the species Cobitis Linnaeus, 1758 from the River Pearl basin of China. Three new species of C. leptosoma sp. nov., C. wumingensis sp. nov., and C. obtusirostra sp. nov. were described. C. leptosoma is distinguishable from its congeners by a long knife-shaped lamina circularis; a sharp and nearly filamentous tip of the pectoral-fin ray in males; four Gambetta pigment lines, L₂ usually being absent, L₅ consisting of 10–12 oval blotches; and a round or oblong spot smaller than or equal to the eye diameter on the upper part of the caudal peduncle. C. wumingensis is distinguishable by small barbels, maxillo-mandibular barbels shorter than eye diameter; a long fingerlike lamina circularis; a sharp and nearly filamentous tip of the pectoral-fin ray in males; L₅ showing sexual dimorphism; a deeper bluish band pigment in females; a surface pigment with 13–14 blotches in males; and a conspicuous jet-black roundish spot smaller than or equal to the eye diameter on the upper part of the caudal peduncle. C. obtusirostra is distinguished by a cystiform lamina circularis; a sharp and nearly filamentous tip of the pectoral-fin ray in males; L₅ consisting of 8–10 rounded blotches; and a conspicuous jet-black arcuate spot smaller than the eye diameter on the upper part of the caudal peduncle.

Foraging and bedding sites are key ungulate demands of their habitats. Research however, on the differences between these two types of sites has been neglected. This study deals with the winter foraging and bedding site selection of the Asiatic ibex (Capra sibirica) in the Tianshan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. A total of twelve line-transects were used to assist research of the Asiatic ibex within five valleys and canyons during December of 2010 and January of 2011. Ninety-five bedding and one hundred foraging sites used by the Asiatic ibex were examined and the effects of fifteen different environmental factors on habitat selection were analyzed and evaluated in this study. In comparison with its bedding sites, the Asiatic ibex in winter showed a greater preference for semishady slopes and higher vegetation density in its selection of foraging sites. Regarding its foraging site preferences when compared to its bedding site preferences, this species was less sensitive to deeper and greater snow cover, to a lower hiding cover level, and to greater distances from the nearest escape structures. Stepwise Discriminant Analysis showed that a group of five environmental factors played a dominant role in bedding and foraging site preferences. These factors were, in the order of their contribution value: vegetation density, hiding cover level, distance from the top of the mountain, and distance from escape structures. Using these five environmental factors alone, the ability to accurately predict bedding and foraging site preferences of the Asiatic ibex reached 93.3 %.

Several decades ago, large areas of the Iberian Peninsula were planted with allochthonous tree species for timber production among other reasons. This severe habitat transformation is likely to affect a large spectrum of the biodiversity in the area. The wild boar Sus scrofa is a widely distributed large mammal, for which population density can be estimated on the basis of hunting results relative to effort in each area. Our goal was to analyze the influence of pine plantations on the relative density of this species in Southern Spain. Based on data obtained from hunts, we found that the relative density of wild boar was negatively related to the relative area covered by pine trees. Our results support a negative effect of pine plantations on wild boar density and indicate that restoration and conservation of native oak forests can favour not only biodiversity but also the maintenance of wild boar populations.

The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus, 1758) is a near threatened large carnivore having a wider distribution range than other hyenas. However, very little information is available about its status and ecology. In the present study, we assessed the current status and population density of striped hyenas in the semi-arid tropical forests of the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, India. The density of striped hyenas was estimated through individual identification using a photographic capture-recapture framework. With an effort of 600 trap nights, 24 individual hyenas were identified with an average trapping effort of 17.6 per hyena photograph. The estimated density (individual/km² ± SE) for central zone was 0.04 ± 0.01, for eastern zone 0.12 ± 0.03, for National Park 0.08 ± 0.05, and for western zone 0.02 ± 0.01, while the estimated mean density was 0.07 ± 0.03. We discuss the results of this study in relation to the distribution of hyenas in the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, which provides them a safe denning refugia and dietary requirements. Striped hyenas are under continuous pressure of various threats that directly or indirectly affect its occurrence and abundance, and lack of reliable status of their populations makes it extremely difficult to develop and implement an effective conservation plan to arrest the inferred decline. Very few studies have been conducted so far on this species and our findings may provide some useful information for its conservation in India and elsewhere.

Scent marking is widely recognised to have a crucial function in many species. Most research has focussed on adults and very little is known about scent marking patterns during juvenile development. Using video records of juvenile red fox Vulpes vulpes across six years, we tested whether scent marking rates varied with age or sex, or whether juveniles remaining on the natal territory (philopatry) marked more frequently than those that disappeared. Our data show that male juvenile red foxes scent marked more than females during early development, but rates rapidly declined as they aged. In contrast, females showed a significantly later and slower rate of decline. Within females, individuals that remained in the natal area had higher scent marking rates than those that disappeared, suggesting that scent marking has a role in social group affiliation within litters. These results demonstrate that scent marking plays an important role in juveniles, including their intra-litter social interactions.

The prey of 66 free-ranging urban and rural house cats Felis catus was studied in a mainland area in SW Finland. The data included 1624 home-brought prey animals, of which 92 % could be identified at least to the class level. The mean number of prey brought home was 4.1 per cat per month (excluding winter). Rodents were the most common prey (72 %), 18 % of prey being birds, 5.4 % insectivores, and the rest other mammals (hares, least weasels, pine martens, and a bat), reptiles or amphibians. Six “super predator” cats accounted for 40 % of all prey items captured. There were no differences between the sexes in the number or diversity of prey brought home. The prey of young cats was more diverse than that of older, more experienced cats. Especially old cats in rural areas benefit humans by killing many rodents. The proportion of birds captured was 24 % in urban areas where cats represent a possible threat to native birds: probably > 1 million prey animals are monthly killed by free-ranging cats in Finland, at least 144000 of these being birds. “Super predator” cats should thus be kept in the house, especially in urban areas, to prevent predation on birds.

Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are now confined to fragmented habitats in western China, with more than 60 % of individuals inhabiting 63 protected areas. Knowledge of the environmental features required by giant pandas is critically important for protected area spatial arrangement and subsequent assessments. Here we developed a distribution model for giant pandas in the Tangjiahe Nature Reserve using Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) model. We found that less than 40 % of this key reserve is of high suitability for giant pandas, highly suitable habitat being primarily characterized as coniferous forests away from roads within the reserve. Although there was a clear core zone occupied by giant pandas, which included the vast majority of known giant panda locations, only about 45 % of this zone was classified as highly suitable habitat (suitable and optimal). Therefore, the spatial arrangement within the reserve may need to be modified to effectively manage the remaining population of giant pandas. Of particular concern are several tourism proposals being considered by local government, which, if implemented, will increase the isolation of the local population from those in the surrounding area. Our analysis identifies Caijiaba and Baixiongping as areas that should become conservation priorities. Our approach provides valuable data to advise conservation policy and could be easily replicated across other protected areas.

The question whether the European wildcat, adapted to cooler climate than other small to medium sized felids, shows changes in body mass or size in response to climate change as indicated for other animals is addressed. The literature yielded body mass data of individual specimens covering the time span from about 1860 to 1960. Also the records of collections were accessed to record weight and body length. These mainly cover the time after 1950. Additionally, three cranial measures, gsl, cbl and zw were measured as indicators of size in the collections representing Germany and Slovakia. Museum records of weight from the last 60 years alone do not show a statistically significant change over time or mean annual temperature. But they do so for body length. The combined data from literature and collections from both regions show a statistically significant decrease in weight over time. As the samples from the literature and museum records represent different time periods, prior to and after 1950, it is difficult to decide if the literature data might be unrealistically high or if there was a real decrease in weight. The German and Slovakian samples differ statistically in the studied parameters, which complicates the picture. Overall the indications of changes in size of wildcats with time or mean annual temperature are not consistent in the studied regions and therefore difficult to assess. Even though there is ample material and substantial literature the collected specimens in the collections do mainly represent relatively short time periods and the available data on weight are also unevenly distributed in time. This supports the necessity to collect large series of specimens over time.

Monitoring of bushmeat markets has traditionally been seen as a source of faunistic and ecological data on mammal communities in West Africa. Nonetheless, it is largely unexplored whether datasets coming from monitoring of large “hub” markets in towns can reliably picture the mammal faunas and community compositions at the local level. Here, Swali market in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, that is one of the largest bushmeat markets in the Niger Delta, was monitored for six months in 2013–2014. Data from Swali market were compared with those collected during regular field surveys at five protected forests situated within 15 km radius from the market. A total of 21 mammal species was recorded at Swali versus 29 in the five protected forests. The trade was more intense by wet season. There was a statistically significant linear relationship between mean weight of the sold mammal and its price. A considerable portion of species that occur at the protected forests did not occur in the market samples, including the very rare species and the smallsized species. However, the abundance in the market of the common species was positively related to their apparent field abundance in the forest reserves. Therefore, it is concluded that large-sized bushmeat markets did not depict reliably the whole faunal composition and the community structure of mammals in West Africa, although these types of surveys are sufficient to characterize the abundance distribution of the common species at the regional scale.