Endemic island species are of conservation interest as unique taxa, often with restricted populations, but many are data poor. The Mangaia kingfisher Todiramphus ruficollaris, known locally as the tanga‘eo, is endemic to the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands, and categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The population size has not been estimated since 1996, despite concerns over habitat loss and competition with an invasive species, the common myna Acridotheres tristis. We provide new population estimates for both the tanga‘eo and the common myna, using the same methodology as previous estimates. During December 2018–February 2019 we surveyed with distance sampling along 73 line transects walked across the six habitat types on Mangaia. We estimate there are 4,106 tanga‘eo on Mangaia (95% CI 3,191–5,283), a dramatic 7–8 fold increase compared to the previous estimate of 393–764. We estimate there are 13,350 common myna (95% CI 10,998–16,206), a slight increase, although densities in the two most favoured habitats for myna have declined. There is no evidence that the common myna poses a threat to the viability of the tanga‘eo population, as the latter has increased despite a much larger population of common myna. Presumed declines in the tanga‘eo population in the past were probably a result of habitat loss as a result of the cultivation of pineapples Ananas comosus for export, an industry that collapsed in the 1980s. We recommend a review of the IUCN Red List status of the tanga‘eo.

The Mountain Gorilla Project started with four main programmes for the conservation of the gorilla in Rwanda's Pare National des Volcans: the Training and Equipping of a Park Guard Force (AWLF/PTES responsibility); Conservation Education (FPS/PTES); Tourism Development (FPS/PTES); and a Building Programme of offices and housing for the park guards (AWLF/WWF). Thanks largely to Bill Weber and Amy Vedder of the University of Wisconsin, two of these, the Conservation Education and Tourism Development Programmes, have been as successful as we could ever have hoped. Progress on the others has been distressingly slow due to probably almost inevitable bureaucratic delays. Nevertheless, the training and equipping programme is now under way, and only the building project remains to be started.

The author spent two years, 1963–65, as schoolmaster on Tristan da Cunha, during which he spent four weeks on Nightingale Island. On the main island he found that bird stocks were being depleted and the islanders taking too many eggs and young; on Nightingale, however, where there are over two million pairs of great shearwaters, the harvest of these birds could be greater. Inaccessible Island, which like Nightingale, is without cats, dogs or rats, should be declared a wildlife sanctuary.

The hog deer Axis porcinus formerly occurred in south-west China but has not been recorded there since 1965. To investigate the current status of the species in China, we conducted interviews, and transect and camera-trap surveys during October 2018–June 2020 to search for signs of hog deer across its historical range in the country. We interviewed 50 local inhabitants and surveyed 14 line transects in four counties of Lincang City, Yunnan Province. The camera traps were deployed in Nangunhe Nature Reserve (39.4 km of transects, 82 camera stations, 15,120 camera days) and Daxueshan Nature Reserve (41.1 km of transects, 68 camera stations, 13,554 camera days). We found no hog deer tracks and no hog deer were trapped by cameras. The floodplain grasslands preferred by hog deer along Nanting River have been transformed into agriculture plantations and human settlements. Our findings suggest that hog deer may have been extirpated from China, most likely as a result of habitat loss and overhunting. The conservation priorities for this species in China are the establishment of a protected area in the Nanting River watershed, restoration of habitat and reintroduction of individuals from range countries.

For more than four years the FFPS's Bat Project has received much publicity and acclaim, but more importantly it has resulted in a heightened awareness of the special problems that bats face. Here, the Bat Conservation Officer describes the history of the project and its activities.

Until 1952 there was no agency in India directly concerned with the preservation of the country's wild life, and the Forest Departments of the various States were only able to extend a limited measure of protection within certain of the reserved forests under their jurisdiction.

At the end of 1952 the constitution of the Indian Board for Wild Life, consisting of non-officials as well as of officials, to advise the Central Government in New Delhi, was an important step forward in nature conservation in India. It was followed within a very short time by the constitution of State Wild Life Boards in nearly all the States of the Indian Union. By now several States also possess separate Wild Life Departments, within the Forest Department, concerned solely with the preservation of wild life.

Little is known about the wildlife of the People's Republic of the Congo – Congo Brazzaville. Because the land was once entirely forest almost the only large mammals are those of forest habitat. The author, who went on a two-week mission for FAO/UNDP in 1978, describes the few protected areas, which include one national park, and also the area proposed for a new national park where manatees are thought to be ‘not uncommon’.