Large body size is dangerous. The Pleistocene megafauna disappeared, it is now believed, at the hands of man. Large body size may help elephants and giant tortoises to avoid predators and to cover large areas in search of food. But this size also means that, because they must feed continuously, they need a large area of land to sustain them, and that the long gestation time and dependence of the young on their parents reduce population turnover. Only a very low harvest can be taken of such animals. The African elephant, if it is left to the mercies of poachers with automatic weapons, must become extinct.

Ten hectares of forest were cleared for cultivation on a steep slope in the Alas Valley in Sumatra, and as a result 13 people were drowned. The authors describe what happened and show why a flood was almost inevitable.

New Zealand policy is to eliminate feral introduced animals, such as deer and goats, which have done immense damage to the native animals and vegetation. But an attempt to kill off the feral goats on one island in order to protect the native vegetation raised the cry that these were ‘Old English’ goats and should be conserved.

Because of their coastal habits and lethargic nature, humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae have been among the species hardest hit by the whaling industry. Between 1904 and 1973 (when humpback catching finally ceased), 68,294 humpbacks were reported killed in Antarctic waters, more than 40 per cent of these in the first ten years. Humpbacks, which are relatively easy to identify at sea, have been reported from the Antarctic in recent years only rarely. However, it now seems that some recovery may be taking place.

The South African giant golden mole has been seen by few people; scientifically it is almost unknown. After two visits to South Africa to look for it, in 1978 and 1980, the author, who is Chairman of the IUCN/SSC Insectivore Group, fears that it may already be extinct in the Transkei through loss of its forest habitat, and that the same fate is to be feared in the Ciskei.

After careful examination of trade and other statistics, notably in Hong Kong and Japan, which are the two major importers of African elephant ivory, the authors calculated average tusk weights and estimated the number of elephants involved in Africa's raw ivory exports. They conclude that previous estimates of the number of African elephants killed have been exaggerated.

Nearly two-thirds of 200 sites the authors visited for an otter survey of mainland Greece early in 1981 showed evidence of otters. In some places there were signs that populations were becoming fragmented, but in some of the intensively farmed areas they were widespread in the irrigation ditches, where reeds and bramble thickets gave them cover. The study was financed by the Vincent Wildlife Trust.

In 1884 the brown bog-rush Schoenus ferrugineus, a European member of the Sedge Family, was discovered for the first time in Britain on the shore of Loch Tummel in Perthshire, in the Scottish Highlands. The discoverer was James Brebner, Rector of the Harris Academy in Dundee. The author tells how the plant was exterminated on this site but successfully established 90 years later in a nearby site with plants propagated in a botanic garden from a single plant taken from the original site. The story, he suggests, poses a number of questions for plant conservationists.

During a two-week visit to Vietnam the author was able to take one 200-km journey into the countryside, and to talk with the Foreign Minister as well as several scientists. He found that both people and government were concerned about wildlife and that the government would be receptive to offers of help with field surveys. Fortunately the only national park lies outside the areas affected by the herbicides in the war. Elephants survive on the Laos border, but there is no news of kouprey. Rhinos may not be extinct, and tigers have increased, but several of Vietnam's many species and sub-species of monkeys are endangered.

In the early 1800s the once abundant North Atlantic right whale was believed to be extinct. But by mid-century the species had been ‘rediscovered’, and hunting was resumed until 1918, when the whales were again in trouble. In 1935 all right whales became fully protected by an international convention, and in the 1950s the North Atlantic population was once again ‘rediscovered’. Today, after nearly 50 years of protection and slow recovery, the author assesses the present status of the North Atlantic population. Surveys showed disappointing results until in 1980 a survey of the lower Bay of Fundy (prompted by the threat of an oil refinery being built there) revealed surprisingly high numbers. Another survey in 1981, in which the author also took part, has shown the Grand Manan Island region to be a summer and autumn assembly site for at least several dozen of these endangered whales, including a number of cows and calves. This may be a key area for the North Atlantic right whale's survival.

The centres for rehabilitating confiscated orang utans in Borneo and Sumatra have shown that at least some animals can be successfully restored to the wild. But there is still the fear of introducing disease and possibly social stress into wild populations. Two centres, Bohorok and Sepilok, which are largely administered and funded by the Indonesian and Malaysian governments, are extremely popular, have many visitors, and thus have a valuable role in conservation education. The authors, have been working on education programmes at these centres.

Because the salamander Megalobatrachus davidianus makes sounds like a baby crying, its common name in China is ‘baby fish’. The largest amphibian now in existence, it may grow to 180cm in length and weigh up to several dozen catties (1 catty = ½kg); one specimen caught in Hunan Province weighed 65kg. It is one of three salamander species belonging to the Cryptobranchidae. The other two, Cryptobranchus japonicus in Japan and C. alleganiensis in the eastern United States, are similar to the Chinese species in shape and size, but the American one is much smaller.

In a five-month survey, sponsored by the ffPS Oryx 100% Fund, of the distribution and numbers of primates in Bangladesh early in 1980, the authors visited most of the surviving natural forest. Their report shows that wildlife reserves are inadequate, both in quantity and quality, but acknowledges the Government's efforts in the face of great difficulties.