The greater Indian rhinoceros, on the verge of extinction in India 80 years ago, has recovered dramatically with conservation help. In 1980 there were 1250 in the country. At about that time, however, poaching suddenly started to become a serious problem, and since then over 200 animals have been killed. The authors explain why and suggest how this reverse could be stopped.

On a visit to Ile du Lys, Iles Glorieuses, one of the authors witnessed a massive night attack by rats on roosting common noddies. Although introduced rats are known predators of nesting seabirds, there were no previous records of them killing large numbers of non-breeding seabirds. The authors discuss the circumstances of the case and attempt to explain the phenomenon.

The continuing war in Kampuchea has made it difficult for zoologists to assess the status of endangered species in the remoter parts of the country. Two of the world's rarest mammals, the kouprey and the Javan rhinoceros, may still survive there. The author visited the area in April 1986 and, in interviews with people in two refugee camps on the Thai border, gained the impression that the effects of the war on wildlife were not as drastic as had been expected.

The mires of Western Europe are perhaps the major type of habitat in the region that is of global importance for conservation. They are as well represented in Europe as in any other part of the world, with many distinct and unique types surviving. Mires, wherever they occur, are being destroyed at ever-increasing rates, and measures for their conservation need to be effectively co-ordinated at regional and international levels. The author, who is Symposium Secretary of the International Mire Conservation Group, describes the problems faced by mires in Europe.

When the Kafue National Park was established in 1950 the northern boundary was drawn to include the Busanga Plain, where there was a small population of red lechwe, much reduced by hunting. The effect of the protection was striking: numbers began to increase immediately and by 1973 there were 2000 individuals. In 1985 the authors conducted censuses to establish how the antelopes had fared in the intervening years. Their findings reveal just how successful the conservation measures have been.

The endemic snails of the Galápagos are threatened—by introduced fire ants, by black rats and by the destruction of the Scalesia forest that is home to many of them. More than 30 endemic bulimulid snails are now considered endangered there, many of them occurring only in the 10 per cent of the Galápagos that does not have national park status. The problems of protecting them are formidable, and failure would mean the loss not only of individual species, but of a rare opportunity to study speciation in a natural laboratory.

The two Barbary macaque troops on the Rock of Gibraltar have long attracted countless numbers of tourists, yet no benefit to this endangered species has ever resulted. Rather, some visitors feed and disturb the monkeys of the Queen's Gate group, with drastic consequences for their activity, breeding and general condition. The author, who has worked with the species on the Rock and in the wild in North Africa, proposes the establishment of a park, which would protect the Queen's Gate troop, generate funds for conservation, and act as an education centre.