Tuesday, October 28, 2008

"Extinct" muntjac rediscovered by Debbie Martyr

I've been incredibly remiss about posting this - one of those things that just slips out of your mind. Readers will recall that Debbie Martyr is a dedicated conservationist in Sumatra, where she works to save endangered orangutans, tigers, and other species while probing the mystery of a possible new ape locally called the orang-pendek.
When some of Martyr's team recovered a small deer from an illegal snare, she knew it was unusual. She took photographs and sent them to taxonomist Colin Groves (also no stranger to my readers). The result was the rediscovery of the Sumatra muntjac (Muntiacus montanus), first discovered only in 1914 and not seen since 1930.
Congratulations for this important milestone in conservation to Debbie and Colin, and thanks to Loren Coleman for posting the news and associated correspondence.

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