Category: Subspecies

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Are Neanderthals extinct, or are they actually part of the human race

Historically, scientists have treated Neanderthals and humans (homo sapiens) as separate species, but this has been called into doubt. Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals) and homo sapiens clearly share some links, as the majority of the human race, has around 2% of our genome from the Neanderthals.

Thought to have split around half a million years ago, the Neanderthals are thought to have arrived in Europe up to 430,000 years ago. Humans only left Africa (and arrived in Europe around 50,000 years ago.

It suggests, that Neanderthals and humans coexisted around 50,000, in a relatively harmonious way, and interbreed relatively frequently. The issue with this, is that according to strict rules, separate species are not supposed to be able to produce fertile offspring, when they interbreed (there are plenty of examples of ligers (it should be noted that generally, while the female liger (or tigon) is infertile, the male is usually fertile) or zeedonks in zoos, where closely related individuals were put in the same enclosure for company, only to find that an unexpected offspring occurred.

This suggests, that Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, should not be considered as separate species, but merely separate subspecies (much like the Amur leopard of far eastern Russia, and the Cape leopard of Southern South Africa, are both leopards, so could have offspring).

It is true, however, that there are no individuals with high levels of Neanderthal DNA. However, it is quite easy to see how interbreeding could eliminate a subspecies. Should the wolves from France migrate west into Spain, in large numbers, the Iberian wolf, and its genetic traits could be lost. While in some instances this can be positive, as it can give a subspecies with low genetic variability the capability to recover, It can also have a negative impact – imagine the Amur tiger, whose wild population in the 1940s was below the lowest that the Amur tiger population dropped to just 50. Had humanity transferred 50 Bengal tigers into this range, and they had interbreed with Amur tigers, before dying of the cold, there offspring, would likely have not had long enough coats to survive the harsh winter, and the whole subspecies would have likely been lost.

All this is to say, that we need to be careful how we reintroduce species. It is one thing, if a subspecies has already been lost, as a closely related subspecies is better than a hole in the food web, but if this subspecies is introduced to help the population, it may instead drag it towards extinction.

Mountain Gorilla

Mountain Gorilla

The mountain gorilla is a sub-species of the Eastern Lowland gorilla. It is isolated on two sets of mountains, they are only a few hundred miles apart, but given the space between their populations is one of the most dense human habitation in Africa, reconnecting these habitats will not be possible in the near future.

Mountain gorillas are very similar to eastern lowland gorillas, though as they have 8 inch hair all over their body, they look far larger.

Currently, there are 1063 mountain gorillas in the wild, split between their two reserves. This does not sound high, but has doubled since the 1980s when each reserve only had around 250 individuals. They are nowhere close to fully recovering, but it is questionable whether their two homes can support more gorillas than currently live there.

Cross-river gorilla

Cross-river Gorilla

Cross river gorilla

Cross-river gorillas were originally discovered in 1904, however, in the decates that followed, it was thought that this animal had been hunted to extinction. It was rediscovered in the 1980s, but is incredibly endangered, with only 250-300 remaining. It should be noted, that this is considered a sub-species not a species in its own right – though it is still of great interest, and saving the few that still survive should be a high priority.

As can be expected, its range is very small, though it is hard to know if it ever had a far larger range. Its range is the small dot of light brown found on the map above the pink area.

As we make connections, these will be added below – to help you arrange your travel to see this rare animal

Tapunali Orangutan

Tapanuli Orangutan

Tapanuli orangutan

Orangutans are often animals high on the list that people wish to see one day. Orangutans are the only great ape that lives outside Africa. While fossils show that at one time, it was found on the mainland of Asia, the Orangutan is now restricted to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. There are 3 species of Orangutan and their conservation status varies dramatically. The Orangutan was first scientifically described in 1779 by Dutch anatomist Petrus Camper. 

The Tapanuli orangutan, was discovered in 2017, It lives in the Tapanuli forest in Sumatra, but is thought to be more closely related to the Borneo Orangutan. It is thought that just 800 remain, in an area covering around 1000 square miles. This is around 9.75% less than the area they would have historically roamed. It is scary when we are only discovering species of this importance when they are this close to extinction. One would think that they Indonesian government would be working as hard as possible to save what habitat remains, but there is a dam being built, which will split this population into 3, and it is quite plausible that they will not survive.

You will find all the articles we have written on the Tapanuli Orangutans below (there will be a video between)

As always, we hope to add many destinations for Orangutans in the near future, do get in touch if you wish to list somewhere in their range. These links will be added below the news sections as we make links.

Sumatran Orangutan

Sumatran Orangutan

Sumatran Orangutan

 Orangutans are often animals high on the list that people wish to see one day. Orangutans are the only great ape that lives outside Africa.

 

While fossils show that at one time, it was found on the mainland of Asia, the Orangutan is now restricted to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. The Orangutan was first scientifically described in 1779 by Dutch anatomist Petrus Camper. This page is devoted to the Orangutans of Sumatra.

As with all great apes, the Orangutan is a keystone species and by saving its habitat, we save many thousands more as a by-product. The greatest threat has been palm oil plantations – while in theory these are created to reduce carbon emissions, it is questionable as to whether these plantations could ever be carbon negative. Building it on land that has to be cleared of rainforest, means that these palm oil plantations will have huge carbon footprints, which are likely to take over a century to pay off. As such it is not useful for climate change mitigation.
The orangutans of Sumatra are classed as critically endangered. 

They are currently thought to number around 14,000. As always, we hope to add many destinations for Orangutans in the near future, do get in touch if you wish to list somewhere in their range. Below, any listings that might get added in the future, you will find all the articles we have written on Orangutans. 

The Borneo and Sumatran Orangutans were only recognized as separate species in 1996

 

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