12 | New Scientist | 7 September 2019
THE river Thames is home to
a surprising array of wildlife –
even a breeding colony of harbour
seals. A survey by the Zoological
Society of London (ZSL) found that
138 pups were born in the
river’s estuary in 2018.
The Thames is also home
to grey seals, with a combined
seal population of about 3500.
The river’s banks are submerged
at high tide, which prevents grey
seals from breeding in the estuary.
Newborns must mature for weeks
before they can swim, so females
travel elsewhere to give birth.
Harbour seals, however, can swim
within hours of being born and slip
into the water at the first high tide.
Their numbers are “a really
good sign about the rest of the
ecosystem”, says Anna Cucknell
of the ZSL.
The estuary is also home to
harbour porpoises, seahorses
and two kinds of shark. ❚WildlifeA SCIENTIFICALLY important
amber deposit in north Myanmar
has been taken over by the
country’s military and is being
exploited to line the pockets of
the generals, a report from a
local organisation has claimed.
The amber mines in Kachin
State have produced hundreds
of priceless fossils dating from
99 million years ago, including
the tail of a feathered dinosaur
and several complete birds, lizards
and frogs, as well as countless
insects and other invertebrates.
As previously reported by
New Scientist (4 May, p 38), the
fossils are mined in horrendous
conditions and smuggled over
the border into China for sale.Palaeontologists are key buyers,
publishing dozens of papers every
month describing new specimens.
The Kachin people have fought
for independence from Myanmar
since 1962. Until 2017, indigenous
people controlled the mines. In
June of that year, the Myanmar
military began to oust them and
seize control. The offensive has
killed and displaced thousands of
people and has been condemned
by the UN as a genocide.
The government claims it
acted to halt illegal mining and
protect the environment, but the
report by the Kachin Development
Networking Group (KDNG)
says the military has resumed
unregulated mining in HukawngValley, where the richest deposits
are found.
According to the KDNG, the
amber trade is worth an estimated
$1 billion a year. The group says
around 3000 displaced people
from mining villages are still
living in makeshift camps and
being denied aid by the army.
The report is based on in-depth
interviews with 21 people from theregion. The KDNG is calling on
the army to halt its campaign and
allow displaced people to return
home, as well as for foreign
governments and organisations
to freeze investments in Myanmar
and send humanitarian aid.
After New Scientist revealed
the horrors of the Myanmar
amber trade in May, Burmese
amber expert David Grimaldi
of the American Museum of
Natural History, New York,
called for a strict boycott of
amber from the country.
The Embassy of the Republic
of the Union of Myanmar, London,
hasn’t responded to requests
for comment. ❚FossilsAmber mining resumes in Myanmar
Clare WilsonA specimen
of red amber
from the
Kachin region
of MyanmarSeal pups thrive in Thames
Landmark survey finds harbour seals are breeding in estuary
ZSL/TONY THOMASNews
KDNG Graham Lawton