The endangered Asian elephant is found today primarily in protected areas. We characterized 18 dinucleotide microsatellite loci in this species. Allelic diversity ranged from three to eight per locus, and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.200 to 0.842 in a wild population. All loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, but linkage disequilibrium was detected between two loci in the wild, but not in the zoo elephants. These loci will be useful for the population-level studies of this species.

We report the isolation and characterization of 17 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the North American raccoon (Procyon lotor). These loci exhibit high levels of allelic diversity, with between four and 13 alleles per locus, and heterozygosity, with observed values of 0.500-1.000 in a sample of 20 individuals. All genotypes conformed to Hardy-Weinberg expectations and there were no instances of linkage disequilibrium detected.

Ecological similarities support that competition between the gibbon species exists and takes the form of interspecific territoriality. However, we could not find any clear mechanism of niche partitioning favoring coexistence between species. Our findings suggest that the contact zone is unstable and is maintained by dispersal inward from groups of the parental species. The relatively low numbers of mixed-species groups and hybrids found suggests a high degree of premating reproductive isolation, perhaps mediated by interspecific miscommunication. The existence of hybrids and backcrosses potentially undetectable from phenotypic characters alone raises the possibility of more widespread introgression than has been evident. Hence, while interspecific territoriality should reduce the rate of gene transfer, it would not necessarily present a barrier to introgression into contiguous populations of the opposite species.

The illegal wildlife trade, especially of live animals, is a major threat to slow lorises. Large numbers of confiscated slow lorises are sent to rescue facilities. We aimed to describe the occurrence and types of abnormal repetitive behaviours (ARBs) in 36 confiscated Bengal slow lorises (Nycticebus bengalensis), and examined factors influencing the occurrence of ARBs. We recorded behaviours of the slow lorises using instantaneous scans every 5 min from 19: 00 to 06: 00 h, and observed 6 types of ARBs in 14 (38.9%) individuals. Each individual exhibited 1 type of ARB. The most prevalent ARBs were pacing, rocking and up-down movement, and represented 29.9 ± 13.6% of the activity budget. Sex did not significantly influence the occurrence of ARB. Animals who had been at the centre for longer had a greater tendency to exhibit ARBs, but this was not statistically significant. We suggest that housing slow lorises in large semi-natural enclosures with conspecifics may reduce ARBs. Other factors potentially influencing ARBs, such as cage size, should be further investigated.