Word: sumatrans
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...stops here because I protected the family with my magic line." AGENDA PURBA, Sumatran witch doctor, after treating a suspected bird-flu victim who had escaped from a hospital, explaining how he prevented the spread of the disease. Many rural villagers believe avian flu to be the result of black magic, complicating efforts to contain...
...live to tell tales of the marauding buccaneers who currently infest the sea-lanes of Southeast Asia. Piracy has become an all too real contemporary scourge for fishing and commerce across an expanse of ocean stretching from the Malay peninsula to the Philippines. Sumatran pirates constantly harass coastal freighters and fishermen in the Straits of Malacca ... Pleasure boats headed toward Bali from Hong Kong and Thailand are warned to stay away from the Celebes Sea. Cutlass and sword are pass?. Asian pirates today pounce from hidden coves in supercharged speedboats or trawlers armed with automatic rifles, M-79 grenade launchers...
...Melbourne's Monash University aims to change that, in October announcing plans to store dingo samples in its gene bank alongside those from endangered species like the northern hairy-nosed wombat and the Sumatran tiger. Monash's Norwood Animal Conservation Group, which oversees the program, needs $A10,000 in start-up funding to gather reproductive and tissue samples from perhaps 100 wild and captive dingoes as "an insurance policy" against extinction, says project director Shae Cox. The funding offers aren't rolling in, but Cox senses public opinion is starting to shift in favor of the animals' long-term survival...
...reproductive capacity of the slow-moving mammal is no match for Chinese appetites, and pangolins have been all but eradicated on the mainland. Now gourmets, traditional medicine practitioners and businessmen looking to show off their wealth rely on the likes of Jema'ah. But even in distant Sumatran forests, the pangolin is growing harder to find. "I used to catch big ones" of up to 20 kilograms, Jema'ah says. "But the biggest I catch these days are eight kilos...
...longtime wildlife dealer in the Sumatran city of Bengkulu sums up the problems facing enforcement officers in the region: "We never have to worry about the police when transporting animals. Most don't even know or care that it's considered a crime," he says with a laugh. "And the ones who do are already in the business and making money themselves." The combination of soaring demand and lax enforcement is leading to a potentially catastrophic situation for the region's wildlife, activists say. "At the current rate there is a very good chance that we will lose...