Mountain gorillas exist in the wild today only in the Virunga volcanoes, which span the borders of Zaire, Rwanda and Uganda, and in the Bwindi Forest Reserve of Uganda, and number probably fewer than 400. The authors describe the 1981 survey of the entire Virunga gorilla population, the first to be done since 1973. The results clearly show how the gorillas in the Rwanda. section of the volcanoes have benefited from the protection afforded by the activities of the Karisoke Research Centre and the Mountain Gorilla Project in Rwanda. There is also optimism that the Zaire population, which has retained the potential for increase, could recover if given better protection from poaching and disturbance.

Inevitably, wildlife suffered during the military conflict in the Falkland Islands in 1982. But after the sounds of battle died away and there was time to assess the extent of the damage to wildlife it was recognised that it could have been much worse. Ian Strange, an Islands' resident, who was present throughout the occupation and conflict, here records not only the effects of the war but also of the military presence that has been maintained since it ended. As a naturalist/ conservationist he views with some disquiet the implications of the development aid that is pouring into the Islands and makes a plea that the Falklands be made an international reserve.

The three species of lion tamarins face extinction as the last remnants of Brazil's coastal forests are whittled away. The Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust has been directly involved in captive breeding of the golden lion tamarin and its Zoological Director is an elected member of the seven-person International Management Committee for the species. He visited Brazil in 1983 to see the conservation work being carried out and describes attempts that have been and are being made to save these spectacular New World primates.

In the past six months there have been two notable developments in the follow-up of Operation Oryx, whose history was summarised in Oryx in 1982 (Vol. XVI, pages 406–410). A first release was made in Jordan, in October 1983 and a second one in Oman in April 1984. The Royal Jordanian Conservation Society should be most warmly congratulated for having been able to release, with substantial help from both the World Wildlife Fund and the Oman Government, no fewer than 31 oryx into the Shaumari Reserve near Azraq, which although fenced extends to 22 sq km. This herd derives from four pairs originating from Operation Oryx, sent from San Diego Wild Animal Park in California in 1978, and three more animals presented by HH the Prince of Qatar. Their release into the extensive natural habitat at Shaumari by HM King Hussein crowns a notable effort and provides further justification of the foresight of the ffPS in undertaking Operation Oryx 22 years ago. It is unlikely that Arabian oryx can be released into the open desert in Jordan in the foreseeable future, since the available areas are too close both to populated areas in Jordan and to the Saudi Arabian frontier, which they could not be prevented from crossing and where they could not be safeguarded.

While penguin watching one summer's afternoon on New Island in 1979, Sir Peter Scott, Richard and Maisie Fitter, Ian and Maria Strange (owners of half of New Island) and Michael Wright of World Wildlife Fund—US, decided to form a charitable organisation through which efforts to protect the Falklands' unique wildlife and maritime heritage could be channelled. The result of their inspiration was the Falkland Islands Foundation of which Sir Peter became chairman. At the time, of course, nobody had any idea that the Falkland Islands would soon become an international battle ground and that threats to wildlife would take on a new intensity, but in retrospect the establishment of the Foundation could hardly have been more timely. The events of 1982, which rudely transformed the Falklands from a peaceful agricultural backwater into a bustling military stronghold, miraculously caused minimal direct damage to wildlife but greatly increased the need for urgent conservation measures to ensure that the spectacular breeding colonies of penguins and albatrosses, and the rest of the Islands' fauna and flora, still exist for future generations to enjoy.

Sweden, with its small population and its wealth, is in an ideal position to practise sound conservation. Indeed, it was the first European country to enact legislation making provision for national parks. But, as is true of anywhere else in the world, there have been, and still are, conflicts between conservationists and those who exploit natural resources without thought for the future. Professor Kai Curry-Lindahl, an ffPS Vice-President, has been involved with conservation in Sweden for many years as well as being extremely active at an international level. In July 1983, the British Museum (Natural History) invited him to give a public lecture on the progress of conservation in his country and its attendant problems. Here we publish a shortened version of his talk.

The plight of indigenous birds on oceanic archipelagoes often makes depressing reading, as the author points out in his forthcoming book, Naturalized Mammals of the World. Habitat destruction by domestic stock and predation by accidentally introduced rats and mice are the major causes. In Bermuda this discouraging trend has been reversed by the successful rehabilitation of two species within the space of a quarter of a century.

The major obstacle to snake conservation in India, and probably in other countries too, is human fear. The author visited the Madras Snake Park in 1980 and describes the fear of snake bite that pervades the country and how the Park is seeking to overcome the problem by a programme of public education.

The author, who initiated a recent search that led to the rediscovery of the rare cane turtle in south-west India (see Oryx, July 1983), recently returned to the Anaimalai area. With the help of Kadar tribal people he found a group of lion-tailed macaques little outside their known range—a discovery that assumes significance when one considers that it is one of the world's most endangered primate species.

Two species of iguana inhabit the islands of the Fiji goup: one, the crested iguana, was discovered as recently as 1979 and the other, the banded iguana, once common enough to be an important source of food for humans, is now listed in the IUCN Red Data Book. The author, in his three-year study, discovered that both species still exist in relatively dense populations on a few, small uninhabited islands, although they have disappeared from those that are developed. He discusses the threats to their survival and the conservation efforts being made.

Brazil has more primate species than any other country in the world but large-scale deforestation for agriculture and industry has brought an estimated 22 species to the verge of extinction. Nowhere is this habitat destruction more evident than in Brazil's Atlantic forest ecosystem. Although originally extending along the entire length of the eastern coastline, today only small isolated tracts of primary forest remain. In 1983 the authors, aided by an Oryx 100% Fund grant of £200, carried out a vegetation and habitat survey in the forest of Fazenda Montes Claros, one of the last remaining refuges for the woolly spider monkey Brachyteles arachnoids. The 47 individuals within the forest form the largest single breeding population in the world today. Rapid and effective action is required to secure this habitat if there is to be any hope of saving this primate from extinction.

The warm event, El Niño, that struck the eastern equatorial Pacific in 1982–83 was the strongest recorded in the last 100 years. Coastal people suffered floods, crop losses and failure of fish catches as the ocean waters grew warmer and the rainfall increased more than tenfold. Wildlife was affected in many different ways. The author has been working as a Naturalist Guide within the Galápagos National Park for the past three and a half years and he is particularly interested in the interactions of seabirds with their environment.