When the author visited ’Eua in the Tonga islands to study the red shining parrot, he took the opportunity to collect information on some other aspects of Tonga's wildlife. During his 18-month survey he also visited several other islands in the group. Here he discusses six rare and threatened animals—four birds and two reptiles.

Conservationists in the West often assume that the people of the developing world are less concerned about wildlife than are people in the developed world. Recent surveys, in Tanzania, Brazil, Rwanda and the USA, have exploded this myth. The authors discuss the findings from these surveys and their implications for conservation. This paper was presented, in London in December 1985, at a symposium—Current Issues in Primate Conservation—organized jointly by the FFPS and the Primate Society of Great Britain.

The Black River Lower Morass is Jamaica's largest wetland, and is a refuge for two endangered species—the American crocodile and the West Indian manatee—as well as for a host of other plants and animals. It is internationally important for many birds and a vital economic resource for 20,000 people. Proposals for peat mining and drainage for agriculture now threaten this valuable area. The author has a long-standing interest in the wetland, having studied the American crocodile there since 1975.

The breeding population of Audouin's gull, a Red Data Book species, is endemic to the Mediterranean. Its population was estimated at 4000 pairs in 1985, but its restricted distribution and vulnerability to disturbance and competition necessitate active conservation measures. The gull's most important breeding colony is on Rey Island in the Chafarinas group, and in 1983 a three-year study was started to discover the factors limiting the size of the colony and to formulate a management plan.

The reserve system in the USSR is complex; more than 11.4 million ha of land are involved in several categories, which afford wildlife different degrees of protection. At least 40 major new reserves are planned for the near future, but Soviet conservationists have to face demands for agricultural land, poaching, increasing pressure from tourism and organizational problems. In 1984 the author visited the USSR to study the scientific uses of the country's reserves. It was Dr Braden's third research trip to the USSR; as Vice-President of the International Snow Leopard Trust she has been involved in discussions there about the captive-breeding and exchange of snow leopards between the USA and the USSR.

Living in the rain forests of the Philippines is one of the largest and rarest eagles in the world, the Philippine eagle Pithecophaga jefferyi.This magnificent bird is in danger of extinction due to the pressures of land development and human persecution. The author spent three0 years, from 1982 to 1985, helping to study the eagle, both in the wild and captivity, as part of a team dedicated to its conservation. The eagle has become the symbol of the conservation movement in the Philippines, and linked with its survival are a host of endemic species that share the same forest habitat.

In 1984, when the authors were working in the central part of Egypt's Eastern Desert, they found some large tracks and followed them. From the top of a sand dune, they had a brief but clear view of an adult male Nubian ibex. This unexpected sighting confirms that there is at least one population in this part of the Eastern Desert; the last report of ibex in the area was in 1927.

In 1985 the University of Kent, with the FFPS, organized a study tour to the Luangwa Valley in Zambia. The author was among the participants and describes his once-in-a-lifetime experience.