Creature News

Blog covering Ranthamhore Tiger Reserve

2009-10-12T13:13:00.002+01:00

Found a good blog: 'All About Ranthamhore Tiger Reserve'. It's run by Aditya Singh. He doesn't post all that often, but his articles are often lengthy and always very interesting. He knows the park inside-out.

Meat chickens facing crowded future - to do something about it, email Defra via the RSPCA

2009-09-13T23:21:00.005+01:00

The RSPCA is urging the Government's Minister for Animal Welfare, Jim Fitzpatrick to reject new EU legislation which would increase the numbers of chickens allowable per square metre in British chicken farms. The Quash the Squash campaign is supported by the RSPCA, Compassion in World Farming, and the World Society for the Protection of animals.

British chicken farms are already too crowded, the minimum space required for each chicken being only a little more than the area of a typical mouse mat. The increase that the new legislation would allow is from 17 to 21 birds per square metre. Research has shown that there is a sharp increase in health problems at densities of over 15 birds per square metre.

In April this year the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and members from Compassion in World Farming protested outside the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. More pressure needs to be applied. You can read about the campaign and get an email template for a letter to Jim Fitzpatrick here.

More information:

Compassion in World Farming's extensive site on chicken welfare.
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Our previous posts on this topic are here and here
The Independent piece on battery chickens and the April demonstration
Department for the Environment , Food and Rural Affairs
DEFRA Chicken Welfare Recommendations document

Raban's Ravens

2009-07-25T23:22:00.004+01:00

Excerpt from Passage to Juneau, by Jonathan Raban:

"I awoke to voices. The VHF radio on a neighbouring boat was turned up load, and two fishermen were gossiping over the airwaves. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying in this exchange of laconic growls, punctuated by bursts of gruff laughter. Pulling my right wrist from under the bedclothes, I looked at my watch: 5:40. Magnified voices trading incomprehensible punchlines tortured me out of bed. Groggy with lost sleep, resentful of my inconsiderate neighbour, I dressed and slid the hatch cover open.

The village was blanketed in mist, the water as still and grey as sludge. No one appeared to be up on any of the boats nearby. The radio voices belonged to two ravens, perched on adjacent pilings, who continued to natter to each other, oblivious to my movements ten feet below.

Exactly as Roger Tory Peterson described, the ravens had goitre throats and Roman noses: it was impossible not to see such human-sounding birds in anthropomorphic terms. Even after realizing my mistake, I couldn't stop trying to decode their conversation. Maybe they were talking in some lost Tsimshian dialect, but they were definitely talking; and if I couldn't make sense of their vocabulary, I could clearly hear their grammar, as in Noam Chomsky's famous demonstration piece, the sentence 'Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.' Peterson, so vivid on the raven's appearance, hardly did justice to its voice: 'A croaking cr-r-ruck or prruk; also a metallic tok.' Had he listened to the Klemtu ravens, he would have heard the mordant chuckle; the tone of sly, disdainful irony; the taste for talking, like William F. Buckley, in sentences extended by multiple dependent clauses; the habit of raising rhetorical questions and immediately answering them; the Bertie Woosterish what? what?; the old-womanish tut! tut!; the chronic grumbler's repertoire of nagging complaints and self-justifications.

In the stories, the raven is cleverest of all the animals: a master of disguise, a brilliant conman and thief, a gourmand and lecher, an inveterate survivor. Among his many adventures, Raven steals the box containing daylight from an old man, gets control of the tides from the tide-woman by sticking porcupine needles in her bottom, makes the waves, has sex with a princess by pretending to be a shaman. In Swanton's version of the Tlingit Raven cycle, a great deal of what Raven does has to be printed in Latin. In some stories, Raven creates the world.

The character of the guileful Raven was grounded in the everyday habits and behaviour of the ravens that were to be seen in any village. Anecdotes about real ravens needed only a little tweaking to be transformed into the happy extravaganzas of the Raven cycle. There is a perfect continuity of theme and character between the Indian stories and those told be Lawrence Kilham, the great popular expert on Corvidae and author of The American Crow and the Common Raven. Kilham's first experience of ravens was in Iceland in 1933, when he fired at one with his 20-gauge shotgun. A single feather drifted down from the sky while the raven, 'seemingly undisturbed', continued to circle.

The raven was back sooner than I expected. Just as I looked up he took a shot at me. A large purplish splotch (the raven had been eating crowberries) landed on the front of my hat. I took it off and gazed in astonishment. One can say that it was all fortuitous. But that is not the way it seemed to me. The experience left me with a feeling that ravens, in addition to being sharp mentally, may have a sense of humour.

In Kilham's book, a raven distracts some young wolves from their kill by pretending it has a broken wing, so its mate can steal food from behind their backs. A mute swan is similarly distracted, and three ravens rob its nest. Ravens dive-bomb gorillas, for 'deviltry', and reduce them to paralysed terror. Ravens take turns tobogganing down a snowbank on their fronts. Tame ravens attempt to court and mate with their human masters.

Painting the raven as a devious trickster, comfortably able to outwit grizzly bears, killer whales, and men, the coastal Indians had to invent very little. Most of what Raven does - short of actual fornication with an actual princess - is found in Kilham, not as legend but as natural history. Like the stories of the Flood, the Raven chronicles were essentially true to the observed facts of life on the Northwest coast, even as they nudged their material into the domain of the mythical and the marvellous.

Watched, without interest, by the gossiping birds, I undid the boat from the dock and pushed off."

Hares Doing Well in UK

2009-03-03T14:01:00.002Z

Hare numbers are up by 35% since last year, according to a survey of 60 farms carried out by the Wildlife Trusts.

"Farmers are leaving wide grass margins in arable fields where the grass grows long to provide shelter.

Hare numbers had fallen due to by the conversion of grassland to arable farming, changes to planting regimes and reductions in different habitats in the countryside.

The farms managed with help from farm wildlife habitat scheme Wildcare, have also been helping adults and young - known as leverets, by delaying grass cutting.
When they do cut, they start in the centre and work outwards to give the hares the best chance to escape into neighbouring fields.

Other measures include breaking up large areas of cereal crops with grassland and leaving stubble over winter to provide shelter for the animals.

John Cousins, head of agricultural policy for the Wildlife Trusts, said: 'This news - that the brown hare is flourishing on these farms - is both encouraging and rewarding evidence farmers can make a difference.'"

BBC Report
Piece on The One Show - starts about 22.5 minutes in. Near Royston somewhere.

The Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)

2009-02-27T10:40:00.003Z

Another species that has become naturalised to the UK, the red-legged partridge was introduced as game by Charles II. They now outnumber the UK's native Grey Partridge but there is no evidence to suggest that the red-legged partridge is responsible for the decline of the grey. Unusually, red-legged partridge can use two nests, with two sets of eggs looked after independently by the male and female.

You can now see them in much of England, particularly in the east, parts of Wales and in eastern Scotland. Populations also exist in Northern Ireland (on the east coast) and on the Isle of Man.

Red-legged partridges are most often seen in groups in arable farmland. I often see them in central Hertfordshire along with numerous pheasant. Like the pheasant they much prefer walking to flying. They are very attractive and photogenic birds, providing good photo opportunities in groups. The two pictured above were taken in Glen Lyon, Perthshire, using a car as a hide.

More Red-legged Partridge data:

Emperor Penguins Head for Extinction

2009-01-28T10:41:00.002Z

Emperor Penguins
Originally uploaded by BrynJ

Based on predictions from climate change models, the world's Emperor Penguin population may be reduced to 600 breeding pairs by 2100.

The reduction in sea ice will affect krill and fish populations that the Emperor Penguins depend upon during their winter breeding season.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution press release
BBC News report

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch: 24-25 January 2009

2009-01-18T00:20:00.001Z

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch: 24-25 January 2009
Originally uploaded by vlad259

This year's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch takes place on 24-25 January. It really helps the RSPB and only takes an hour. "Watch the birds in your garden for an hour and record the maximum number of each species you see at one time." Full details here: www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/about/index.asp

Ratty's Return

2008-06-17T13:23:00.003+01:00

I'm ecstatic to learn that water vole numbers are increasing on the River Chess, near to Watford where I live.

Mink control schemes have been implemented on the River Chess in recent years and they appear to have worked wonders for the water vole population.

The return of otters in other parts of Hertfordshire and Essex have helped, as they are a predator of mink. Maybe one day otters will return to the Chiltern rivers!

Water Vole survey details

The Divine Cat

2008-01-19T12:21:00.001Z

The Divine Cat
Originally uploaded by vlad259

If you like cats and/or Egyptology, get down to the British Museum and see The Divine Cat exhibition before it closes on January 27th.

More details: http://touregypt.net/teblog/egyptologynews/?p=3234

Chicken by Numbers

2008-01-04T09:54:00.000Z

I've mentioned this before, but it's on the front page of The Independent this morning. Look at your mouse mat. It's about the size of the space that most UK battery chickens get to live in.

The Independent's chicken numbers:

40% of all meat consumed in Britain is chicken
855m birds are bread in the UK each year
95% of these chickens are farmed in factories
The remaining 5% are free range and/or organic
There can be up to 50,000 birds in one shed
50% increase in the rate at which birds are brown compared to 30 years ago
27% of these birds experience severe problems with their legs
19% suffer hock burns due to ammonia arising from urine on the floor
The lights are kept on in the sheds for 20 hours a day
1 sheet of A4 paper is about the size of the space that a battery farmed chicken has to live in (so, a little larger than my mouse mat.)
The average battery chicken lives for 40 days
The standard price of a chicken is £2.50

from The True Cost of Cheap Chicken, The Independent newspaper

Our previous post on this subject: No Eggs / Mouse Mat

Corvid Cunning

2007-08-28T17:11:00.001+01:00

Great post at BirdTLC about smart ravens (and other things.) I won't spoil it, you have to go and check it out (link below.) It's not just clever behaviour, but very human behaviour. Yes I know there's an oxymoron in there somewhere...

BirdTLC - Do birds visit other birds in the hospital?
The Guardian - Corvid Tool Use

Diabetic Cats

2007-08-08T14:49:00.001+01:00

Having cared for a diabetic cat for several years, I read the news reports today with great interest. Apparently 1 in 230 - almost 0.5% - of pet cats in the UK are now diabetic. Our cat, Stig, had several bouts of diabetes. At first we injected him with insulin once a day. After about a year, his condition improved and his body started generating insulin normally again. We stopped the injections but after a few months he was diagnosed again with diabetes. This time our vet advised us that current studies suggested that twice daily injections would be better. We went to two injections per day and stayed that way until the end of his life. He was quite happy being injected and although it was difficult to adjust our schedules to make sure we always injected him on time, it was well worth it. He was amazingly cooperative and it brought us closer to him. He lived until a very old age - 19 or 20 - and his death wasn't related to his diabetes. Although he was a very large cat - reaching 20lbs at times - he wasn't anything like the flabby cats you'll see in these news pictures below.

Please don't overfeed your cats! If you can't feel their ribs easily, they are too fat.

Report at the BBC news site
Report at the Guardian Unlimited site
Good info from York Adoption Centre
Excellent resources at www.felinediabetes.com

Soylent Green is People!

2007-06-20T10:09:00.000+01:00

I read a quite shocking article on Alternet the other day, concerning the makeup of many brands of pet food. Here is a significant excerpt:

'The only requirement that the industry must meet is to adhere to the Labeling Act, which states that food must contain the name and address of the producing company, whether the product is intended for dogs or cats, the weight of the food, and the guaranteed analysis. The source of the protein included in the analysis can be anything: condemned material from slaughterhouses, road-kill, zoo animals and even euthanized companion animals. Of course, the industry denies all this, especially the use of dead dogs and cats in pet foods. However, a senior official from a large rendering conglomerate in the United States wrote to me, "I know of no rendering company in the U.S. that will segregate companion animals from the rest of the raw material they process."

I personally have been able to trace euthanized pets from veterinary clinics in the city where I live to rendering plants where they are processed; the end results are shipped to pet food companies. Pentobarbital, the drug used to euthanize these animals, ends up being fed to our pets.'

It's not all about enforced cannibalism, there's plenty of other ways that pet food gets contaminated. The article mentions excess levels of vitamin D, mycotoxins from mouldy grain, and melamine contamination.

I don't know how this applies to the UK, but the article mentions brands sold in the UK, Iams and Purina, among others. I've dumped our Purina and found a brand made from pure Salmon and vegetables. As I live in the land of the mad cow, I've been aware of the quality levels of human food for a long time. I had never considered the quality of pet food.

Alternet article Why Is the Pet Food Industry Killing Our Pets?
Report on the risk from pentobarbital in dog food
Extensive article on NewsTarget.com
Useful page on PetCareTips.net
An article on Homestead.com that mentions studies from 1985

Red kites return to Aberdeen

2007-06-19T11:35:00.001+01:00

Kite Pair
Originally uploaded by vlad259

The red kite is to be re-introduced to Scotland. Once common, they were persecuted to extinction in the North East in the 19th century. The chicks are at Warren Wood now, and are due to be released in August.

The full press release at the RSPB website.

Good News for the Iberian Lynx

2007-06-01T11:21:00.001+01:00

... it's not going to get a 300km motorway built through vital habitat after all.

This is astoundingly good news. The road would have gone straight through an area that connects the two main Iberian Lynx habitats. The Iberian Lynx is currently heading toward being the first big cat extinction since the sabre-tooth tiger 10,000 years ago - it needs all the help it can get.

The Register's article
Reuters news item
Our previous post on the endangered Iberian Lynx
Excellent information from Iberia Nature

Springwatch

2007-05-25T16:45:00.001+01:00

Let's All Dredge
Originally uploaded by vlad259

Don't forget, BBC viewers, Springwatch starts on Monday!

A good article on Springwatch from the RSPB
The full schedule is here.

Loch Garten Ospreys

2007-04-30T15:24:00.001+01:00

Osprey-in-flight
Originally uploaded by Matt185.

Significant updates here are few and far between, as childcare is taking priority! But I have just noticed that the Loch Garten RSPB Centre has a blog relating to its ospreys.

I was there last year and it's the best RSPB centre I've been to. It is normally featured on BBC's Springwatch - last time we were there, the staff spent most of their time explaining Bill Oddie's comments of the night before (and debunking many of them!)

There is an excellent viewing platform where you can use supplied scopes or your own optics to see the nesting Ospreys. If you have a big enough lens (800mm !) you can get decent photos of them, too.

The Loch Garten RSPB Osprey blog

Otter Than July

2007-04-13T17:28:00.000+01:00

Your instructions: watch this great video of otters being very, very cute. (Link below.)

When you've seen it, go and give some money to the IOSF (International Otter Survival Fund, link below.)

Youtube video
BBC video
IOSF website

Hertfordshire, Dustbin of the UK

2007-04-11T16:20:00.000+01:00

Hertfordshire's landfill is being used up at a very fast pace - due to be exhausted in six years. If all the discarded plastic bags, coke cans and other litter was collected, it would probably be full by next week. The whole place is thoroughly dirty. Visit Hertfordshire's most remote woodland and you will undoubtedly find litter. Drive along any main road, and you will see plastic bags hanging from the trees.

It always startles me that the wildlife is capable of surviving in this kind of landscape. It shouldn't be surprising, as I've found in studying Chernobyl that a nuclear accident is less harmful to wildlife than the presence of man. (That's over a period of 20 years, mind you!)

In and around Watford, Grey Herons are thriving. It's a fairly watery place - three rivers - and they can be seen every day quite easily.

Shopping Trolley Wildlife Hosted on Zooomr

Hares in Danger

2007-03-30T15:04:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a sign in Hertfordshire warning that police were actively looking to prosecute people for illegal hare coursing. I'd never seen this before and was happy that the police were enforcing the 2005 ban on hare coursing. In Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, very active policing of the ban has effectively wiped out the practice.

Unfortunately, coursing is the tip of the iceberg for hares in Britain. There is no close season for hare hunting in the UK. In March alone, tens of thousands will be shot by hunters who have no obligation to be licensed or educated - in many countries in Europe, people that want to hunt live targets must pass written and practical tests.

A reduction in habitat, along with shooting, has caused a huge reduction in hare numbers during the last century - down to 750,000 from four million.

Without a close season, animals are killed during breeding seasons, leaving many orphaned young. A petition for a close season to hare hunting has just closed on the Downing Street website, sadly not well publicised and with few signatories. The government response can be read at the link below. In a nutshell, they state that because hares do signficant damage to crops, and because the brown hare breeding season can be very long, it was not in the interest of British agriculture to enforce a close season.

I have spent a fair bit of time around farmland and I disagree with the opening statement of the Government's response - "The brown hare is a widespread and conspicuous farmland species in Britain." In many rural parts of the south of England, you rarely see hares at all.

The hare was one of the first wild animals to receive its own Species Action Plan in the 1990s. It is declining faster than any other British mammal apart from the water vole.

Excellent article in The Independent on the plight of the UK hare
British Brown Hare Preservation Society
Government response to BBHPS petition
Another excellent article in The Independent

Raven Ramblings

2007-03-29T12:45:00.000+01:00

I've mentioned this before - I don't know why, but I think Ravens are my favourite birds. I remember seeing them close-up at a Bird of Prey centre many years ago, and they made a big impression on me.

Some things I didn't know about Ravens:

they are possibly the smartest birds, perhaps as intelligent as dogs or dolphins
they've been seen flying upside down for 1km
their preferred nest material is often sheep wool
it's the official bird of Bhutan, the Yukon and the city of Yellowknife
the followers of Bön, an ancient Himalayen religion, consider the raven sacred because "They spend their days repeating one of our holy syllables, 'Ah! Ah! Ah!'" Monks offer them "elaborate offering[s] of dough and coloured butter"
Ravens can be taught to speak

(yes, the one on the right is an alpine chough, not a raven!)

Previous blog posts on Ravens at BirdTLC:

One of Dave's favourites
Yeoman Raven Master

The Raven in verse:

Ravens by James R. Scott
The Stranglers' excellent 1979 album The Raven

Other Raven stuff:

Ravens at the Tower of London
RSPB guide to Ravens

Leave No Child Inside

2007-03-02T16:14:00.000Z

Today I read an article on Alternet called "Leave No Child Inside". It's fascinating, and important, and you should read it!

"The movement to reconnect children to the natural world has arisen spontaneously, ignoring the usual political and economic dividing lines in society."

Full article here.

Japanese Whaling Expedition Goes Home

2007-03-01T11:22:00.001Z

Oriental Bluebird & Nisshin Maru
Originally uploaded by Greenpeace Esperanza.

Excellent news piece in the Guardian yesterday summarising the end of the Japanese whaling expedition in the Southern Ocean. It doesn't pull any punches, unlike much of the BBC reporting. The BBC has often failed to clearly identify the anti-whaling organisations involved, particularly in its radio reporting. This is a problem because the two anti-whaling presences following the Japanese fleet in the Southern Ocean are quite different, and one difference in particular is extremely significant: Greenpeace does not use violence. Sea Shepherd does.

You can follow the progress of the Greenpeace Southern Ocean Expedition 2007 on the Greenpeace blog.

Guardian article
Greenpeace blog
Stunning pictures from Dave, on board the Greenpeace ship Esperanza

How Much Do You Like Wildlife?

2007-02-19T12:43:00.000Z

If you're bothering to read this blog then the chances are, you're pretty keen on animals, wildlife and the environment.

However, it's all relative - you'll most likely be re-assessing the significance of your committment after seeing a blog from the Congo Rangers. Theirs is an extremely dangerous occupation, with a very real risk of death.

Two decades ago there were 20,000+ hippos in Virunga National Park, Congo. Today there are probably less than 300. The poaching has been extensive, violent and organised. It is largely conducted by Mai Mai militia groups. Recently the local Mai Mai have teamed up with elements of the Rwandan Interahamwe, and have aggressively targeted the rangers, taking two hostage. Fortunately the two hostages have since been released.

If poaching is not kept under control here the critically endangered mountain gorilla will probably be next. The nearby Virunga Mountains are home to the remaining 380 mountain gorilla, in 30 social groups. The work of the Congo Rangers is vitally important and we can all help by donating (link below.)

Congo Rangers blog
Support the local efforts to help wildlife by donating
Articles on Wikipedia relating to the Mai Mai, Interahamwe and Virunga National Park
National Geographic article on hippo poaching in Virunga National Park

Whale Action

2007-02-10T15:15:00.001Z

Humpback whales this morning, Southern Ocean
Originally uploaded by blather.

Greenpeace are currently in the Southern Ocean looking for the Japanese whaling fleet. The ship Esperanza is fully wired and many of the crew are contributing to a blog of their expedition. Some of the crew are also updating their Flickr accounts from day to day - the picture above was taken on Friday and shows humpback whales in the Southern Ocean.

This weekend, the group Voices in the Wilderness on Flickr is highlighting the plight of whales in response to the Japanese push for commercial whaling. Currently, non-aboriginal large-scale whaling is technically done for 'scientific reasons', although most of the catch ends up eaten.

Pictures from the expedition by Dave Walsh (he took the one above, too)
The 'Voices in the Wilderness' group on Flickr
The Greenpeace Southern Ocean expedition blog
BBC International Whaling Q&A

What's Your Species?

2007-02-08T08:15:00.000Z

Understanding Speciesism is a great entry on the Animal Ethics blog. It is significant because many conservation efforts seem to be highly speciesist.

For example, how much is spent on conserving panda - and how much on cod? Let's face it, if you're a large and attractive looking endangered mammal, you're far more likely to gain the attention of people when it comes to conservation.

Fortunately, there are people and organisations out there that seek to redress the balance. Buglife (The Invertebrate Conservation Trust) are a UK charity and are "the first organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates." They are "actively engaged in saving Britain's rarest bugs, slugs, snails, bees, wasps, ants, spiders, beetles and many more fascinating invertebrates. "

The Endangered Ugly Things blog is devoted to fighting the corner for unloved and unattractive endangered creatures. It has recently posted a story on the Solenodon, pictured here, which is an interesting Cuban mammal which is very much at risk of extinction. Among other things, it uses toxic venom to kill, and until settlers arrived it was very much toward the top of the predator tree in Cuba.

Animal Ethics blog (Understanding Speciesism entry)
Endangered Ugly Things blog (Solenodon entry)
Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust

Otter Sanctuary / Back Again

2007-01-27T17:32:00.000Z

The International Otter Survival Fund is a charity devoted to helping wild otters. It is based on the Isle of Skye, and takes otters for rehabilitation from all over the UK. The IOSF has a couple of webcams showing the current (very cute) residents.

On the IOSF web site they are currently listing a petition for the banning of snares. You can sign it online.

About snares: "These crude devices inflict terrible cruelty and suffering on any animals unlucky enough to be trapped in them. They are totally indiscriminate and often catch protected animals, such as badgers and otters, as well as domestic pets and livestock. Snares are thin wire garrottes commonly used by gamekeepers to catch the foxes that are naturally drawn to the artificially elevated numbers of game birds in shooting woods. Snares are also set to catch rabbits. Snares are barbaric and the UK should join the many other European countries that have banned their manufacture and use."

* The IOSF website
* The petition against snares
* The IOSF's webcams

This blog has moved from spaces.msn.com - I liked the Microsoft offering but I reckon Blogger is better for us. Mainly because it's more customisable.

Wildlife Week at The Scotsman

2006-06-05T17:22:00.000+01:00

It's Wildlife Week at The Scotsman newspaper. There will be new articles every day, today they talk about Peregrines and Basking Sharks, among other things...

Wildlife Week at The Scotsman

HogWatch

2006-05-22T13:45:00.000+01:00

I don't know about you, but I'm seeing more hedgehogs this year than last. Admittedly I haven't seen a live one at all yet, but it's got to the point round here - Hertfordshire - that even a dead one is encouraging. How sad is that?

HogWatch is a new project that has been launched to gather information on the overall UK hedgehog population health. It is being coordinated by Royal Holloway University of London and is funded by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species & the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

It's very easy to take part in the survey. Just visit their website - link below - and tell them if you saw a hedgehog last year. Later on this year, they'll contact you and ask if you saw one in 2006. Very straightforward!

The HogWatch Survey website

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society

People's Trust for Endangered Species

Article on BBC News website

The Hedgehog Helpline Website - a mine of useful information.

(photo from Matt Tindall, taken last week in Cumbria)

Bovine TB & Badgers

2006-05-04T14:36:00.000+01:00

I received this email a couple of days ago, shown below. 47,474 people left feedback!

"Dear Consultee,

CONTROLLING THE SPREAD OF BOVINE TB IN CATTLE IN HIGH INCIDENCE AREAS IN ENGLAND

Thank you for contributing your views to the consultation on badger culling as part of the measures to control the spread of bovine TB in cattle in high incidence areas in England. Your comments on the proposed badger culling strategy will be taken into consideration along with the comments of other respondents.

A report will be produced summarising the responses to the consultation. This has taken longer than expected due to the large number of consultation responses received (47,474 responses were received during the consultation period). We do not have a date for the final report but an announcement will be made when it is available. Once published the report will be accessible by following the link from the Defra website's Bovine TB Pages [here].

No decision has yet been made on whether or not to cull badgers to help control bovine TB in cattle. Ministers will consider all available evidence including the summary of consultation responses before making a decision.

Yours sincerely,

The bTB Wildlife Policy Team

Bovine TB and Badgers Consultation,
Defra
1a Page Street
London
SW1P 4PQ

Website: www.defra.gov.uk
Email: bTB.consultation@defra.gsi.gov.uk"

Chernobyl Voices

2006-04-27T14:35:00.000+01:00

"It was like this: They announced over the radio that you couldn't take your cats. So we put her in the suitcase. But she didn't want to go, she climbed out. Scratched everyone. You can't take your belongings!"

"The soldiers killed the dogs. Just shot them. Bakh-bakh! After that I can't listen to something that's alive and screaming."

"I'd come up to the window, look down, and cross myself. I thought I heard a horse. A rooster. I felt terrible. Sometimes I'd dream about my yard: I'd tie the cow up and milk it and milk it. I wake up."

"I had two cows and two calves, five pigs, geese, chicken. A dog. I'll take my head in my hands and just walk around the yard. And apples, so many apples! Everything's gone, all of it, like that, gone!"

"And the chickens had black cockscombs, not red ones, because of the radiation."

"The cattle hadn't had water in three days. No feed. That's it! A reporter came from the paper. The drunken milkmaids almost killed him."

"I walked for two weeks. I had my cow with me. They wouldn't let me in the house. I slept in the forest."

"Every day I'd dream of my house. I'm coming back to it: digging in the garden, or making my bed. And every time I find something: a shoe or a little chick. And everything was for the best, it made me happy. I'd be home soon..."

"I got in to see a doctor. 'Sweety,' I say, 'my legs don't move. The joints hurt.' 'You need to give up your cow, grandma. The milk's poisoned.' 'Oh no,' I say, 'my legs hurt, my knees hurt, but I won't give up the cow. She feeds me.'"

"I have two bags of salt. We'll be all right without the government! Plenty of logs - theres a whole forest around us. The house is warm. The lamp is burning. It's nice! I have a goat, a kid, three pigs, fourteen chickens. Land - as much as I want; grass - as much as I want. There's water in the well. And freedom! We're happy. This isn't a kolkhoz anymore, it's a commune. We need to buy another horse. And then we won't need anyone at all. Just one horsey."

"Sometimes a wild boar will come into the garden, sometimes a fox. But people only rarely. Just police."

"There was a rabid fox here during the spring - when they're rabid they become tender, real tender. But they can't look at water. Just put a bucket of water in your yard, and you're fine. She'll run away."

"And the cuckoo is cuckooing, the magpies are chattering, roes are running. Will they reproduce - who knows? One morning I looked out in the garden, the boars were digging. They were wild. You can resettle people, but the elk and the boar, you can't. And water doesn't listen to borders, it goes along the earth, and under the earth."

From Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich. Reminiscent of Studs Terkel's oral history books, it is particularly harrowing. I can only read a little bit at a time.

Give it a Rest, Consumers

2006-04-06T14:34:00.000+01:00

Water for dogs: http://www.k9waterco.com/

(Water for people: http://www.wateraid.org)

Bird Flu Links

2006-04-03T14:27:00.000+01:00

Useful post on Avian Influenza by Dave at BirdTLC: http://birdtlc.blogspot.com/2006/04/avian-influenza.html. It lists a number of official Q&A links and fact sheets.

April Fauna: Cercopithecus Icarocurnu

2006-04-01T13:47:00.000+01:00

From The Photo Book:

"The original Cercopithecus Icarocurnu was a type of long-tailed ape, but this one has developed owl's wings and a narwhal's tusk. The picture belongs to the series Fauna, which was completed by Fontcuberta and the writer Pere Formiguera between 1985 and 1990. Each entry in their fantastic bestiary is made up of one major 'record' photograph, such as this one, along with invented field notes and drawings. According to the notes, this flying monkey (which was actually assembled from a collection of negatives) was sighted in the Amazon jungle in spring of 1944, and was regarded as semi-divine by the Nygala-Tebo tribe.

Fontcuberta has produced many such series, as if intent on inventing an alternative culture complete enough to constitute a world. His pictures, which are a mine of misleading information beautifully realized, can be thought of as entertainments conceived in opposition to the sobriety of much of the new art of the 1970s and 1980s."

You can see loads of his frankly quite barking mad photographs here.

Eagle Views

2006-03-29T12:01:00.000+01:00

Run, do not walk, to this webcam: mms://stream.galaxytelevision.net/hh001 (if that link doesn't work, try this one. Alternatively you might have to paste it into your browser.)

It's utterly brilliant. The camera is on Hornby Island, BC, Canada, so presumably you can only see anything during BC daylight hours (I haven't checked.)

Update: It's run by these people.

Cheating Parents

2006-03-27T12:00:00.000+01:00

Edinburgh Zoo used to offer free entry to any child that turned up with a Blue Peter badge. For those not familiar with the Blue Peter badge concept, Blue Peter is a very long running and extremely popular TV show for kids in the UK. You have to work quite hard at something before they gave you a badge.

Now, Edinburgh Zoo have stopped their free entry offer because parents were buying the badges on eBay ...

Official Blue Peter site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter/

However the Wikipedia site is more useful if you don't know what the hell I'm on about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Peter

Update: It's not just Edinburgh Zoo, it's a scheme run by the BBC to allow free entry to about 200 UK 'attractions'.

Update 2: Now British MPs are tabling a commons motion to ban the resale of Blue Peter badges. Very noble I'm sure but personally I think it's a massive waste of my taxes. Here's the article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4860800.stm

Ch*cken 'n' Chips

2006-03-27T11:56:00.000+01:00

The US Department of Agriculture has a plan to require farm animals across the USA to be tagged with microchips or other RFID style systems. The National Animal Identification System has been under development since 2002, and could be a mandatory requirement by 2008.

Alternet has a fantastic article on this, syndicated from Grist Magazine. It goes into great detail, the link is below. Many small scale farmers have expressed concern that it is a system of most use to and implemented most easily by large farming businesses and corporations. The USDA acknowledges that at least part of the cost will have to borne by the farmer, but stresses the benefits that NAIS could provide.

From my limited and blinkered point of view, it seems like a good idea. My cats are chipped - I saw it done, and it appears painless and is very quick. It's definitely less invasive than branding or ear-clipping, as Paul Shapiro of the Humane Society of the US points out. Also, in the case of outbreaks of disease, more accurate tracking of animals will surely lessen the collateral damage. Perhaps, if the tracking is accurate enough, treatment of animals in disease outbreaks may even be by something more sophisticated and helpful than a bullet.

It's late and my grammar is going down the toilet so you'd do worse than read the entire original article at the link below. It's excellent. Check the comments on it, though - they are very negative and concentrate on possible technical failings of the system. Something to think about.

One last thing - if UK animals had been tracked perhaps the foot-and-mouth outbreak of a few years ago would not have happened. The alleged transport of animals around the country in order to defraud EU subsidies that is often blamed for spreading the outbreak would not have been possible, for a start.

Alternet's article: http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/33967/

NAIS from the horse's mouth: http://www.usda.gov/nais/

Grist Magazine - Environmental News and Commentary: http://www.grist.org/

Know Your Water Vole

2006-03-25T11:55:00.000Z

In case you've only just arrived, Ratty from Wind in the Willows was actually a water vole. They are the UK's fastest declining mammal.

From a leaflet produced by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust:

"They live along lakes, rivers, ditches and streams feeding on vegetation. Preyed on by mink and suffering the loss of their riverbank homes, their numbers have fallen dramatically. Urgent conservation action is needed to stop this charismatic creature becoming extinct.

Many people mistake water voles for brown rats and accidentally poison them or disturb their homes." [Equal rights for rats please!]

Observation of the ears and nose are the easiest way to tell the difference between water voles and brown rats. Here's the full list of key visual differences, from the leaflet:

Ears: water vole has small, hidden ears, rat has big ears

Fur: water vole has silky mid-brown fur, rat has grey-brown fur (difficult, this distinction)

Nose: water vole has a blunt nose, rat has a pointed nose

Tail: water vole has a furry tail, shorter than the rat's long pink scaly hairless tail

The Wildlife Trusts: www.wildlifetrusts.org

The Mammal Society: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/

Help the 'Big Six'

2006-03-22T11:54:00.000Z

The RSPB are piloting a new online project 'Homes Fit For Birds' in order to help six of the declining bird species in the UK: house sparrows, starlings, song thrushes, spotted flycatchers, house martins and swifts.

Leaving aside the fact that I can't read the title without transposing the middle two words (and I already have one, thanks) it is an excellent initiative and something that anybody with a garden can help with. In fact, the plight of garden birds is something that can only be improved by many people taking action. Nobody in government can push a button and make the song thrushes come back - it's down to all of us.

Register at the RSPB website by Monday 8th May. You'll get a free bag of Suttons' flower seeds, and advice on improving habitat for the 'Big Six' that is tailored to your garden.

Action Stories

2006-03-02T11:50:00.000Z

Bear with me on this. When I was a small boy, my most cherished possessions were Action Men figures. My parents and grand-parents were never short of an idea of what to get me as a gift, and my collection grew steadily. Eventually I had what seemed at the time like a small army of Action Men, complete with dinghies, armoured cars and even a tank at one point.

One morning - when I was on holiday, in fact - I was summoned by my parents to read a letter that they had received. The contents of the letter absolutely terrified me: "We have reason to believe that dangerous and toxic chemicals are present in all Action Man figures, and urgently request that any figures you may own are placed in plastic bags well away from you and your children. Place the bags at the bottom of your garden and await collection."

I think my parents now regret the choice of April Fool's joke, because I did not take it well, barricading myself in a room at the top of the house where we were staying and uttering words to the effect of, "you'll have to take me with them, they're safe I tell you, I'm not giving them up!"

Even if I didn't look after four cats (I hesitate to use the word 'own' in conjunction with a cat) I would empathise with cat owners reading the current scare stories about cats catching bird flu.

Facts relating to the German cat that died of HN51 bird flu:

it's believed that the cat contracted the virus from eating infected birds
the World Health Organisation do not believe that the spreading of the virus to a cat has increased the risk to humans
many governments - France, Germany, Italy - have issued statements that seem to contradict the WHO statement. It is better to be safe than sorry, of course

Part of the WHO statement: "There is no present evidence that domestic cats play a role in the transmission cycle of H5N1 viruses. To date, no human case has been linked to exposure to a diseased cat," the UN agency said. "Unlike the case in domestic and wild birds, there is no evidence that domestic cats are a reservoir of the virus."

Reuters news item

The WHO is coordinating the global response to bird flu. Their site is here.

Oh yeah - parents: no hard feelings, I know you didn't mean it. Also, I've done much worse to you, after all.

Raw Meat, Blood-Soaked Biscuits and the Occasional Rabbit

2006-03-01T11:50:00.000Z

No - not death metal bands, that title is the food of choice for the Tower of London Ravens. I needed something to take my mind of other worries (like - how do you accidentally eat a goat?) so I cruised on over to the BirdTLC blog and happened upon this excellent item about the London Ravens.

Getting Your Goat part 2

2006-03-01T11:48:00.000Z

I didn't come back just to post smut. Honest (you can trust me.)

However I feel the need to share the story of a Sudanese man that has just married a goat. Disturbingly, it sounds like it was a shotgun wedding: "When I asked him 'What are you doing there?', he fell off the back of the goat, so I captured him and tied him up."

Village elder opinion was sought and Mr. Tombe was ordered to pay a dowry for the goat "because he used it as his wife."

Incidentally, the 'real Robinson Crusoe' - Alexander Selkirk - used to notch the ears of the goats who gave him the most sexual pleasure, so that he didn't accidentally eat them.

Mr. Tombe's big night on the BBC

Almost all about Alexander Selkirk on Wikipedia

Animal Defenders International

2006-02-13T09:52:00.000Z

I haven't really done proper research on this, but at first glance the Animal Defenders International website looks very interesting. At the moment they are campaigning strongly to improve the lot of animals used in circuses. (Hopefully by removing them all.)

Check out their webiste - Animal Defenders International

The Big Garden Birdwatch

2006-01-27T09:51:00.000Z

I had written an amusing piece that compares our 'ownership' of four cats to having children. However according to MSN Spaces 'This entry contains language that is prohibited. Please delete the prohibited language from the entry.'

There wasn't any that I could find - and I'm an expert on swearing - and I had to delete all the text before it would let me save it.

Just get along to the RSPCA Big Garden Birdwatch page 'cos it's a really useful and fun thing to do, and it only takes an hour. Here.

Badger Cull in UK

2006-01-27T09:50:00.000Z

The UK is heading for a cull of badgers. The purpose of the cull is to reduce the spread of TB from badgers to cattle.

The UK Government has called for public consultation and this ends on Friday 10th March 2006. You can help by going to the RSPCS web site and reading all about it.

I believe that a cull would make no difference to the amount of TB spread. You can get all the facts from the RSPCA link above, or you can go straight to their fact sheet.

Bird Advice from Doctor Dave

2006-01-24T09:48:00.001Z

OK he might not really be a doctor but he's got some really good advice for you if you've found a baby bird. The BirdTLC blog is a mine of useful information. (Have a look at it and check out the latest volcano news, for a start!)

The article here ("Help! I found a baby bird!") is really useful. I saved it in my PDA which I carry everywhere. It spurred me on to look up and store the telephone numbers of the various wildlife rehab centres near me in the UK.

Another article is entitled "Just a few simple things you can do to avoid harming wildlife" - it contains invaluable advice! Check it out.

- The BirdTLC Blog

Whale News

2006-01-24T09:48:00.000Z

I know I should get out more but:

"So the Natural History Museum and London Zoo spent the weekend scrapping about whose whale it was, as they were both trying to provide experts & vets so that their organisations could garner the attendant publicity. The Zoo won - probably something to do with having more expertise with living animals. Or so you would think. What you won't be hearing in Thursday's post-mortem is that the whale actually died shortly after being injected with sedatives. In short, it OD'd on ketamine. "

It was a circus.

Whale in the Thames! The End of the World is Nigh!

2006-01-20T09:47:00.000Z

Only kidding about the end of the world (I think), but there really is a whale in the Thames. It's a seven ton adult northern bottle-nose whale, and it's clearly lost. I wish it the very best of luck.

Whale specialists are concerned that they may have difficulty persuading it to leave the Thames. "Getting that to do anything it doesn't want to do is going to be extremely difficult. This is a very active swimming animal ... it's not going to go anywhere it doesn't want to go, so we have to persuade it to swim back out." Try showing it a sushi bar? Or speaking to it in Norwegian?

You can read the BBC news article here

Stuff the Olympics!

2006-01-12T09:45:00.000Z

The European Parliament has passed a resolution demanding pressure on China to ban the farming of bears for bile.

British Labour MEP Peter Skinner said "We want China to shut all the bear farms before the 2008 Olympics." He added that he wanted China to know that the way a country treats animals shaped the way it is perceived in the rest of the world.

The bears in question are Asiatic Black Bears. They live for 30 years in the wild or 10-12 years when caged and cathetered through to their gallbladder. I have a couple of friends with gallbladder woes. They tell me it's excruciatingly painful.

Aunty Beeb's article

The Arkive's entry on the Asiatic Black Bear

Animals Asia Foundation (they originally drew Peter Skinner's attention to the problem)

Cosmetic Tail Docking for Dogs

2006-01-12T09:44:00.000Z

Please support the RSPCA's petition to ban the tail docking of dogs for cosmetic reasons.

They have a web page on it, to be honest I didn't need to see a picture of a dead rottweiler puppy in a plastic bag in order to get me to sign it. And I didn't want to see it, either. But here you go.

The RSPCA campaigns page.

Pine Martens

2006-01-05T09:30:00.000Z

This is a great site for excellent and varied information on Pine Martens. The non-Pine Marten bits of the site are very good too.

www.ionalister.com

Cat Out Loud is now Wildrun

2006-01-05T09:26:00.000Z

I loved the Cat Out Loud blog, and now it has moved and re-oriented itself to become Wildrun. Which is "about cats. Wild ones. That's all."

It's well worth checking out and is regularly updated.

The Wildrun blog

No Eggs / Mouse Mat

2006-01-04T09:26:00.000Z

Have a look at your mouse mat, if you have one. If it's anything like mine, it's about 470 square centimeters.

Under European Union law, a battery hen must have at least 550 square centimeters in which to forage, preen, exercise, bathe, take refuge and lay eggs.

This is why you should support the RSPCA's campaign to stop all battery cage hen farming. There are 21 million hens in battery cages in the UK.

I would love to find some indication that Nick Park's film Chicken Run contributed in any way to promoting free range hen farming and/or campaigning against battery farming. But I can't.

The RSPCA's campaign

The Battery Hen Welfare Trust

ANWR: Resident's Opinion

2005-12-22T09:25:00.000Z

It would have been a good idea of mine to include the other side of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge argument .. preferably at the same time as posting Arthur Morris' plea, ie before the vote had taken place. You live and learn. The vote has taken place, the ANWR was not opened, and Alaskan senator Ted Stevens described yesterday as "the saddest day of my life." He has spent about 25 years trying to open ANWR.

This is what a friend of mine said when I asked him about it:

"What's my opinion on ANWR? My opinion is that the state of Alaska should tell the rest of the country to take a long walk off of a short pier. The people of Alaska want ANWR open. The people whose life this affects is the people of Alaska, not some gomer in the lower 48. If you ask people to point out ANWR on the map, 99 3/4% couldn't find it. My daughter jokes that she thinks Alaska is an island in a box off the coast of Southern California. If you look at most maps of just the US, that's where it's put to save space.

All land is affected by man when he goes onto it. If monitored properly like the North Slope & the Alaska Oil Pipeline, there can be minimal effect on nature. All of the problems predicted before they were built were untrue. Federal government is where the problems are. If they enforced their own rules, the Exxon Valdez oil spill would of never had a chance to happen."

This is from a guy I greatly respect and who knows his stuff. He has been at the sharp end of oil spills in Alaska. From what I can tell, this is the prevailing view in Alaska.

If you go to Orkney or to Western Canada, you'll hear the same complaints about federal governments .. and if you go to Shetland you'll hear the same comment about being an island in a box on the weather map!

Alaska Wildlife Refuge Needs Your Support!

2005-12-20T09:23:00.000Z

From Arthur Morris' Birds As Art newsletter:

"URGENT NOTE ON ANWR OIL-DRILLING BILL; HELP NEEDED TODAY: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2006.

Late Sunday night the House of Representatives voted to open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Then our representatives left Washington, DC to go home for Christmas.

Earlier this autumn, the Senate defeated a similar provision to open ANWR to oil extraction. Over the weekend, in a last-minute move, Alaska's Senator Stevens inserted an amendment to open ANWR into a defense spending bill. The defense bill, with the ANWR rider, is scheduled for vote by the Senate on Wednesday, December 21.

Environmental advocates have worked long and hard to protect this Alaska wilderness, which would be altered forever by oil exploration and extraction. If the bill passes Wednesday, dreams of keeping these magnificent Alaskan lands pristine will be shattered.

If you care about this issue and have a few moments to spare, please call or email your Senators to share your views. If you don't know how to reach your Senators, visit www.senate.gov and select your state. The telephone numbers and email contacts for your Senators will appear. It only takes a moment to contact them. It could take an eternity to repair the damage that oil exploration will create. Your help is needed today to stop the abomination of ANWR drilling. Please stop what you are doing and contact your senator today. "

Arthur Morris is the best bird photographer that I have ever seen: www.birdsasart.com

Orca is 'Most Polluted' / Consumer Responsibility

2005-12-12T09:22:00.000Z

Once the dubious privilege of the polar bear, killer whales are now classified as the most polluted animals in the arctic. Both creatures feed at the top of the food chain, and so aggregate contaminants from all species 'underneath' them in the food chain.

Blubber from orcas taken from a fjord in northern Norway has been found to contain PCBs, pesticides and flame retardent chemicals used in carpets.

Although PCBs have been banned in countries bordering the north sea for years, they are still found in many animals and even the breast milk of people indigenous to the arctic.

Consider the environment carefully when buying your new fridge, car or house (to name but a few.) We are at the point of no return and the decisions of individuals will shape the future of the planet. It's become a lot easier to check how 'green' a product or service is - we all need to consider the environmental impact of everything we consume.

Remember that the cost of a product does not necessarily include the cost of cleaning up the environmental impact of its production. Consider this carefully when buying goods from countries with a poor environmental record - for example China, and yes, the USA. Consider the CO2 'footprint' of everything you buy - it is possible to be 'carbon neutral' without a great deal of effort.

News item on the WWF web site.

WWF page on pollution in the arctic

Laughs

2005-12-07T09:21:00.000Z

I need a laugh, and so do you - take it from me, I know. Here you are:

A young teacher from Leeds had accepted a temporary job teaching a class of four year olds out in one of the most isolated, rural parts of North Wales. One of her first lessons involved teaching the letter S so she held up a big colour photo of a sheep and said: "Now, who can tell me what this is?" No answer. Twenty blank and wordless faces looked back at her. "Come on, who can tell me what this is?" she exclaimed, tapping the photo determinedly, unable to believe that the children were quite so ignorant. The 20 faces became apprehensive and even fearful as she continued to question them with mounting frustration. Eventually, one brave sould put up a tiny, reluctant hand. "Yes!" she cried, waving the snap aloft. "Tell me what you think it this is!" "Please, Miss" said the boy warily. "Is it a three-year old Border Leicester?"

From The Guardian

Postcards from the Other Side

2005-12-05T09:20:00.000Z

AVIANA (ABP) - Flockistan may shortly begin to cull humans, subsequent to scientists finding an H5-type flu virus during random testing of marsh-dwelling humans in the region's delta.

The delta area has been placed in a state of emergency by President Calamitas who was quoted as saying, "The government appreciates the benefit that humans give to the environment, and we will do everything possible to stop unnecessary suffering. If there were another course of action, we would surely take it."

The virus was found among domesticated humans in several parts of the delta. Although farmers throughout Flockistan are concerned at the possibility of their stocks of humans being wiped out, it is the pet owners throughout the country that have been the most vociferous.

Amy Pullus, chairbird of the Ornamental Bonsai Human Society, was outspoken in her criticism of the government. "We're terrified of a cull. Our members have put a lot of work into their pets, they love them, and many feel that their humans are really part of the family. Some even swear that their humans can understand every word that is said to them!"

Whilst President Calamitas has reassured pet owners that their prized humans will not be harmed, he is expected to initiate the cull of wild and domesticated humans this evening. Sources close to the government suggest that the cull will be conducted using poisoned hamburgers and beer - "the best method we could think of. They love those burgers!"

Some organisations, notable for their hard-line approach to human rights, have said that the virus has only mutated because of dubious practices in the human farming industry. They are calling for an end to feeding with waste meat, particularly ground-up humans that died of disease. The Society for Responsible Human Breeding stated a familiar protest when we contacted them: "Humans are not naturally cannibalistic - even when bred in the most overcrowded conditions, they rarely resort to eating their own kind. Stop this disgusting practice now!"

Greyhounds & Owls

2005-12-02T09:20:00.000Z

Two fantastic blogs:

Celebrating Life with Maggie and Little Sarah (Greyhounds. Brilliant resource for Greyhound owners. Get well soon Claudia!)

The Nocturnal Parliament (Owls. It's not been updated for ages but it's still great.)

Ebola Host Identified

2005-12-02T09:18:00.000Z

Scientists believe they have found the carrier of Ebola virus - fruit bats tested during outbreaks in Gabon and the Republic of Congo were found to be carrying it (without symptoms.)

The excellent factual book Hot Zone by Richard Preston is split into two parts: the first part describes Ebola and various outbreaks in Africa. The second part covers an outbreak in a monkey house in Washington by a virus showing properties identical in many ways to Ebola. (It killed the monkeys - but did not jump species .. much!)

In Hot Zone, a cave is found - Kitum cave - in Africa which links two separate single-incidence occurrences of Ebola. Scientists eventually go to the cave and take blood samples from absolutely everything they can find. (Except elephants - "Did you ever try to take a blood sample from an elephant?" - and big cats.) They found nothing at all and the results were never formally published. Kitum cave was absolutely stuffed with bats, so the fruit bat find could explain how two people died of Ebola in separate incidents after visiting Kitama cave.

A successful virus does not kill its host. It has a symbiotic relationship, the lack of serious harm to the host allows it to survive. When the traditional host of a virus is wiped out, the virus will try to jump species, and it will mutate. A virus that is benign to a moth may be a killer of humans. Viruses like meat ... and the largest source of meat on the planet is human. Conserving the environment can keep these killers in harmless hosts inside the rain forests and jungles of the world. Wipe out their environments and the hosts will die, the viruses will mutate and jump species, and we could be in serious trouble.

Fruit bats carry Ebola: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4484494.stm

Richard Preston (Hot Zone author) has an excellent website.

Very useful information from the CDC relating to Ebola and many other viruses: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola.htm

Ebola and Marburg vaccines created: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4612339.stm

HIV and Ebola 'technology' used as delivery systems for Cystic Fibrosis Cure: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4072626.stm

Sign A Petition to Prevent Horse Slaughter

2005-12-01T09:17:00.000Z

Thousands of horses in the USA are slaughtered every year for food that is sold overseas.

Transport and slaughter methods in this process are inhumane. Sign this petition and urge your senator to support the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 1915).

Get more notice of petitions relating to animal welfare by visiting Care2.com (and clicking on 'petitions'.)

Don't Confuse a People with a Government

2005-11-28T18:08:00.000Z

I'm glad Sir Macca is venting his anger over mistreatment of dogs and cats in China. He's stated that he's never playing there, and will boycott the 2008 Olympics (I didn't know he was entering.)

Of course, anyone that gives a toss about human rights should have been boycotting China since .. oh, a long long time ago.

But I think McCartney's comments such as "And they seem to get a kick out of it. They're just sick, sick people." are misguided. It is the Chinese government that is at fault, not the Chinese people. We must remember that. I have had several comments from Chinese anti-fur protestors on this site - there is a very active home-grown movement against these practices.

McCartney attacks China over fur at the BBC. I couldn't watch the videos.

Swim With Dolphins to Beat Depression

2005-11-26T18:06:00.000Z

A careful and well managed study by a team at the University of Leicester shows that regular swimming sessions with dolphins can help humans recover from depression. Two groups swam and snorkelled in the sea around Honduras, one group with dolphins, the other without.

At the end of two weeks both groups showed improvement in mental health. The group with dolphins improved more than the group without.

Professor Michael Revely summed it up well:

"Dolphins are highly intelligent animals who are capable of complex interactions, and regard humans positively.

"Some people who are depressed may have issues with other humans, and might respond more positively to other types of interaction.

"We need to remember that we are part of the natural world, and interacting with it can have a beneficial effect on us."

The extensive article on the BBC website

Pets as Therapy

It's animal week at the British Medical Journal

Best Laid Plans of Mice

2005-11-25T18:02:00.001Z

The best laid plans of mice turn out to be mostly about cheese. Read more at The Onion.

Kill A Cow For Christ

2005-11-25T18:02:00.000Z

In the red corner: The Anglican Church in Cape Town, South Africa

In the blue corner: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The referee: God (here represented by Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane)

On the slab: An ox.

The SPCA in Cape Town has expressed concern over the welfare of an ox which is planned to be slaughtered at the inauguration of the "newly created False Bay diocese."

Reverend Zolile Sogiba came out swinging, saying that people "must not impose their views and norms or beliefs on African people." He went on to say that diversity in the church must be appreciated.

SPCA representative Allan Perrins commented that he did not feel that slaughtering an animal was an appropriate way to give thanks to God. Sogiba changed his mind and said that actually the reason for the slaughter is "to have more meat for refreshments."

So does it have religious significance or is it just lunch?

God could not be reached for comment, however you can join the mailing list of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa here, and tell them exactly what you think about it. Or you could email Archbishop Ndungane. Interestingly, the Diocese of Ely provides a service that responds to email queries.

Cape Town SPCA BBC News Article

Eat Sensibly / Human Rights

2005-11-18T18:00:00.000Z

A new wildlife park in Thailand, Chiang Mai, will be offering an 'exotic buffet' at several restaurants when it officially opens on New Year's Day.

Project Director Plodprasop Suraswadi explains the contents of the buffets: "... exotic foods such as imported horse, kangaroo, giraffe, snake, elephant, tiger and lion meat. We will also provide domestic crocodile and dog meat.."

The secretary of Wildlife Fund Thailand, Surapol Duangkae, said that: "The idea will set the country's image back a century, because nowadays zoos around the world aim to educate and conserve wildlife, as well as campaigning to stop the killing of animals."

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had previously declared that the country wanted to suppress wildlife trade in the region. Since Shinawatra took office, "Thailand has gone from being a beacon of freedom and respect for human rights in the region to being a country of high concern. Much of the steady progress Thailand had made in the last decade has been rolled back under Thaksin's tenure," said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

Don't hold out much hope for animal rights in Thailand... the people are suffering too. Responsible tourism now requires 'due diligence'. If you don't like it, don't give them your money. It's not enough to turn a blind eye.

Rare Animals on the Menu, article by The Nation

Human Rights Watch for Thailand

Wiki entry for Thaksin Shinawatra, president of Thailand and a big fan of suing journalists for very large sums of money. (Good luck, everybody..)

Lock Up Your Mice!

2005-11-14T17:59:00.000Z

And cats, and small dogs - eagle owls are breeding in the UK. A pair of them have raised 23 chicks since 1997, on the North York Moors.

Conservationists are split over whether this is a return, or a brand new invasion. Either way, it's unlikely to make much difference - if conditions are now right for them in the UK, we'll doubtless see many more of them settling here, whether they are welcome or not. Traditional eagle owl habitat in Europe includes the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, so they're not that far away.

There will be footage of a family of eagle owls in the UK in the programme "Natural World - Return of the Eagle Owl", due to broadcast on BBC Two on Wednesday 16th November.

Here is the full article on the BBC site.

Animals at War

2005-11-11T17:57:00.000Z

Horses have traditionally been the most important 'war animals'. 8 million horses, mules, and donkeys died in World War I.

Dogs acted as message carriers in the Great War. Cats lived in the trenches; canaries were used to detect bad air and gas; and tens of thousands of carrier pigeons took messages between ships at sea (and falcons were used against them.)

Of all the countries in the Commonwealth, Britain was the last to erect a memorial to the animals that died in World War I. It was unveiled in London in November 2004.

Animals in war remembered - news item

Animals In War Memorial - site down at the moment

Getting Your Goat

2005-11-08T17:56:00.000Z

I wish I could find my original piece on 'Send a Cow', the charity which organises direct practical aid for poor farmers around the world. (I sent a beehive - the vegetarian option..)

In any case, it is getting toward Christmas again - the giant inflatable Santa Claus has been climbing the walls of my local shopping mall for a week now. Last year my mother introduced me to 'Send a Cow', and this year The Guardian newspaper has an excellent article following up on what turned out to be a very popular form of gift last year.

The full article is on the Guardian Unlimited website. It is excellent, detailed, informative - and it is well worth reading. The executive summary: it's working! Also, their article from last year. I will be sending more bees this year!

Tiger Sanctuary

2005-11-07T17:49:00.000Z

It seems like a year ago that I wrote a note to myself, "do a piece on that Thai tiger sanctuary that you found - the one run by the crazy monk, where the cats roam around free half the time."

My cunning plan was halted as I mislaid the links. However as I was browsing "Religion & Ethics News Weekly" (as one does) what should I find but a link to an article on the very same tiger sanctuary?

27 years ago, a doctor told Acharn Chan that he had leukemia, and that he did not have long to live. He became a monk - "I know by myself I am going to die soon, so I have to do the good thing very quickly" - and founded a monastery in a remote and rural area of Thailand.

As the wilderness contracted in Thailand, Acharn Chan noticed more and more wildlife in and around his monastery. Injured animals turned up, and received help from the monks. Eventually a wounded tiger turned up, and more were brought by villagers. The monastery turned into more of a sanctuary, and now looks after 15 tigers.

The full story is here. Well worth reading!

I think this is the official website.

Thanks very much to Chris Wright for the photos!

Metal Mouse Music

2005-11-02T17:46:00.000Z

(With apologies to Lou Reed.)

This is the original paper on ultrasonic mouse vocalisations and it has links to audio samples right at the bottom. Enjoy!

More Mouse Chat

2005-11-02T17:39:00.000Z

Nice to see the BBC have caught on, although - typical sensationalist news site that they are (!) - they have focused on the romantic elements of ultrasonic mouse communication. Apparently they were playing a pitched-down version on Five Live Radio yesterday morning and it sounded a lot like birdsong. I need to find a copy!

Here's the (excellent) article on Auntie Beeb's site.

Even more mouse chat at this Chinese news site China Daily.

Feed the Birds

2005-10-28T16:39:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow - Saturday October 29th - is the RSPB's Feed The Birds Day 2005. It marks the clocks going back, but I'm not totally sure why - I haven't ever seen a sparrow with a watch.

However as well as the clocks going back, it's a time when birds and wildlife generally can really use any extra help that you can give them. In the words of the RSPB:

"So please fill your feeders, clean your bird tables, put out some water and give a helping hand to the wild birds around you."

The full story on the RSPB web site.

Mouse Chat

2005-10-28T16:39:00.000+01:00

Young and adult mice of both sexes produce ultrasonic vocalisations between about 40 and 70khz. Just thought you might like to know.

I've seen a bat detector and also a device that translates babies' cries. Combine the two and I'm sure I could spend many happy hours listening to mice discussing the finer points of cat evasion...

Get more details of ultrasonic rodent communication in this paper: Ultrasonic Courtship Vocalisations of Adult Male Mice

Animal Welfare Bill

2005-10-24T16:38:00.000+01:00

The new Animal Welfare Bill in the UK is often reported on as if it is already law - it isn't.

For those unfamiliar with the bill, there is a useful article here (BBC). For the first time, owners and keepers of all vertebrate animals - not just farmed animals - will have a duty of care to those animals. Animal welfare law enforcement authorities will be able to take action if they feel that an animal's owner is not taking all reasonable steps to ensure the welfare of the animal.

The RSPCA are urging people to mobilise to ensure that the bill is enacted into law. This is what they are saying:

"The RSPCA is delighted to announce that last Friday, 14 October, the government published the new Animal Welfare Bill! The bill should become the most significant piece of legislation to protect pet animals for almost one hundred years.

The new welfare offence would, for the first time, protect thousands of animals from enduring serious ongoing neglect each year, by legally obliging owners to care for their animals properly, something the RSPCA has been campaigning on for many years.

The Animal Welfare Bill will now begin its passage through parliament, where MPs and Lords will debate its content before passing it into law.

We still need your help to ensure the bill is enacted into law. Please take action by:

writing a letter or e-mail to your MP to ask him/her to support the Animal Welfare Bill
telling your friends and family about the Animal Welfare Bill and asking them to contact their MP.
To find the name and contact details of your MP, and to get helpful letter writing tips, go to: www.rspca.org.uk/actnow"

Links: Defra - Animal Health and Welfare

Landowners needed for Wildlife Releases

2005-10-21T16:37:00.000+01:00

Landowners with the resources and commitment to help with releasing rehabilitated wild animals are required in the south-west of England. The RSPCA provide all necessary food and equipment, the landowners provide a secure site where animals can be 'soft released'. This is a process of gradual re-introduction to the wild, where animals are at first kept in pens, and then slowly given more freedom until they finally fly/run/lollop away...

You can find more details at the RSPCA web site.

Lynx Extinct in UK in Middle Ages

2005-10-12T16:35:00.000+01:00

Interesting news on the history of lynx in the UK! Bones found in the early 20th century at Kinsey Cave in the Yorkshire Dales National Park have been carbon dated to the Middle Ages - previously scientific opinion dated the extinction of the lynx at 2,500 years earlier.

I found this on Archeoblog.

Previous entries here about lynx: one two three

Penguins Butt of Ig Nobel Joke

2005-10-10T14:50:00.000+01:00

Ever wondered about the pressure that builds up inside a penguin when it goes to the toilet? Me neither.

However, it is a serious matter, and two scientists have researched the subject in great (and messy) detail.

Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow of International University Bremen, Germany and the University of Oulu, Finland; and Jozsef Gal of Loránd Eötvös University, Hungary have produced an in-depth paper on the subject. Such was the outstanding quality of their output, they have been awarded the Ig Nobel prize for Biology, 2005.

Read it here. Comments by the happy winners here.

See more Ig Nobel winners here

"The Ig Nobel awards are arguably the highlight of the scientific calendar." Nature

New Frog Centre for London Zoo

2005-10-06T14:45:00.000+01:00

The Zoological Society of London is to build a new centre for the conservation of frogs and toads. The £2.2m project will be the first 'integrated amphibian conservation centre' in the world. The long term aim is to use the centre to protect threatened species and programmes of re-introduction are central to its goals.

The often fatal fungal disease chytridiomycosis is currently affecting British amphibians and could wipe out many species. It is also spreading rapidly in many other countries. Scientists have recently been planning huge airlifts of amphibians from affected areas - it is a desperate situation.

New Frog Centre at the BBC

Global Amphibian Evacuation plan at the BBC

Astonishing Government Report

2005-10-06T14:44:00.000+01:00

An astonishing new UK government report concludes that climate change could lead to the extinction of many animals. In other news, scientists have confirmed that water is wet and that the sun does not in fact orbit the earth - it's the other way around!

Specifically:

Increased levels of storms could damage the breeding colonies of albatross (there is already documented evidence of albatrosses flying half way round the world to feed their young pieces of plastic - the sea is that polluted. Storms are the least of their worries.)
Sea level rises could destroy a huge amount of beach nesting sites for turtles, seals and birds.
Warmer seas could lead to some turtle species becoming entirely female (water temperature strongly affects the sex of their offspring)
Growing water scarcity could destroy the wetland regions that migrating waterfowl depend on
The spreading extent of the Sahara desert could make migration across it impossible for many birds (less fertile regions mean less food - thanks for clearing that up...)

Read more at the BBC, if you can face it.

Gorillas Tool Up

2005-09-30T14:37:00.000+01:00

It is a common misconception that humans are the only animal to use tools. Chimpanzees use twigs to fish out termites from nests, crows in Sendai, Japan drop walnuts in the road to get them crushed by passing traffic, and polar bears have been known to use stones to fashion their dens.

In fact, the list of tool-using animals has just got a bit longer, as researches in a Congolese forest have discovered gorillas using sticks to test the depth of water when crossing rivers. Check it out at the BBC.

The full paper is published at the Public Library of Science.

Online Petition to Protect Colorado's Cougars

2005-09-30T14:18:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Bobbie for telling me about this (see the trackback below) :

Online Petition to Protect Colorado’s Female Cougars and Their Kittens

"Mountain lions are important to a healthy Rocky Mountain ecosystem, with females critical to the long-term survival of the species. But despite the vital role that female lions play, data from the Colorado Division of Wildlife show that 45% of all the lions killed by sport hunters since 1995 were females (1,649 animals). When female lions are hunted and killed, their orphaned kittens typically die from starvation, given that kittens are dependent on their mothers for their first six to nine months of life. Fortunately, things are changing for mountain lions in Colorado—but not quickly enough. Thanks to the 2,500 letters and emails people like you sent to Colorado’s Wildlife Commission last year, we achieved a 28% reduction in the annual hunting quota for mountain lions. We applaud the Commission for taking this important step, but the current quota system may still threaten the long-term health of Colorado’s cougar population, due to the potential over-hunting of females. Last year, the Wildlife Commission asked sport hunters to voluntarily reduce the number of female lions killed; but data show that the number of females killed last year actually increased. That’s why we urgently need your help to protect the female cougars of Colorado! The Wildlife Commission's hearing on the mountain lion hunting quota is set for November 3rd, and citizen letters must be received by October 20th. Please urge the Colorado Wildlife Commission to set regulations during the 2006 hunting season that will protect female lions from over-hunting and reduce the orphaning of kittens."

Please sign this petition! It's quick & easy. Anyone from anywhere can sign it.

Hamsters on TV

2005-09-29T12:51:00.000+01:00

Call me a whinging old dullard if you like, but I wasn't impressed with something on telly last night. Here is my complaint to Ofcom:

Transmission date: 28/09/2005
Transmission time: 23.30
TV channel: ITV
Programme: It Shouldn't Happen to a TV Vet
Complaint ID: 2536799

I wish to complain about an incident in the above mentioned program, specifically the death of a hamster.

I can understand the incident being present in the original broadcast, as it was a documentary. However the inclusion of the specific clip in the above mentioned program, and the light-hearted way in which it was commented on, was not appropriate.

I cannot help thinking that the death of a larger, more popular mammal such as a cat would not have been dealt with in this way. Cats have exactly the same legal rights as hamsters.

It is astonishingly ignorant to deal with dead pets in this way and marred an otherwise largely inoffensive and interesting programme.

[ "And if you don't sort it out, I'll be round to dig up a close relative," I did not add...

If you want to see the joke of a data-entry page (why? surely you have better things to do?) - here it is: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/contact/tv_radio_other ]

September: A Good Month for Bats

2005-09-06T12:50:00.000+01:00

Recently five bats flew into the Pennsylvanian pub in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire after being attracted by the ultrasonic sounds emitted by the pub's burglar alarm. September is the month in the UK for bat mating and this is probably why the usually shy creatures ventured into the hostelry. History does not relate whether they were asked for ID.

We recently had a close encounter with a bat that one of our cats downed on the lawn. Fortunately it was OK after a few minutes rest in a safe place. It flew off unharmed after a few laps of our bathroom.

The Bat Conservation Trust

Holidays in the Hebrides

2005-09-05T12:47:00.000+01:00

In August I was lucky enough to spend a week on a boat crusing around Scotland's Inner Hebrides. Following last year's failures of breeding colonies on the east coast of Scotland, the same failures are being seen on the west coast. This is very serious - Scotland has almost half of the seabirds in the European Union.

Cruising around the southern Inner Hebrides we saw very low levels of seabirds with only one kittiwake seen all week. Colonies on Tiree, Canna and Eigg have a breeding rate of virtually zero this year. St. Kilda and Fair Isle are also suffering serious breeding failures in their colonies, with puffin breeding down by 70%.

However the question people were asking around the Inner Hebrides was not "why aren't they breeding?" but "where have they gone?" A shortage of sandeels has affected the diet of seabirds this year and it seems that the earliest to nest fared best. Kittiwake, Arctic tern, guillemot and razorbill all nest late, gulls nest early. So why no sandeels? Sandeel numbers declined drastically during 2004 even after a fishing ban and numbers are still very low. (The population would have to double to have the ban lifted.)

In the Antarctic ocean, the warming of the sea has caused algae to bloom early and hance the krill that feed on the algae have their breeding season early. Could something similar be happening in the northern hemisphere? Certainly the expected algae blooms in the hebrides have either not happened or have happened unexpectedly early. Perhaps the sandeels and the plankton that they feed on may have moved to cooler waters.

Mass breeding failures happen from time, quite probably they are a necessary part of the ecosystem. Caribou herds in the Arctice can recover from horrific famines which reduce their populations by 95%. I hope the Scottish seabirds can do the same.

RSPB Seabird Failure

BBC Seabird Failure

BBC Sandeel Fishing

(More on the Hebridean trip later, including credits and links)

Hello and Thanks

2005-09-01T12:47:00.000+01:00

I've been on my travels and have been very lax in keeping this space updated - I hope to post more frequently now. I've got a ton of wildlife photography due to post for a start!

To everyone that has commented: thank you very much, I really appreciate it. I have a list of your spaces to visit too!

No Dessert For Felines

2005-07-25T12:45:00.000+01:00

Scientists have discovered the reason why cats are indifferent to chocolate. Domestic cats, lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars all lack a pair of genes called TIR2 and TIR3, which are responsible for the sweetness receptors present on the tongues of mammals.

The results have been published in the Public Library of Science Genetics, an open-access journal.

(from The Times)

Scotland's Wildlife Passport

2005-07-23T10:49:00.000+01:00

Wildlife and Nature tourist businesses in Scotland have launched a 'Wildlife Passport.' It provides vouchers giving discounts of up to 25% on a variety of activities including land safaris, whale watching, birdwatching and photography holidays across the country.

For more details have a look at http://www.wild-scotland.org.uk

(from The Guardian)

Soft Paws

2005-07-05T10:46:00.001+01:00

The Cat Out Loud blog has opened my eyes to another cat curiosity: stick-on vinyl claw covers. An excellent alternative to the disgusting practice of declawing. Check the link below!

Soft Paws

The always excellent Cat Out Loud blog

Hedgehog Numbers Plummeting in UK

2005-07-05T10:46:00.000+01:00

I thought that I was seeing a lot less hedgehogs - in fact, I can't remember the last time I saw one, it's been so long. They were a regular fixture in Hertfordshire once. I was always distraught seeing them flattened on the roads, but at least you knew there were more in the hedgerows.

Now, the Mammals Trust UK has confirmed this with a survey started in 2001, which presumes that the quantity of hedgehogs on roads will indicate the size of the UK hedgehog population. Their alarming figures show that hedgehog numbers near roads have dropped 20% since 2001.

This year's survey begins on Friday. Road users are asked to note how many hedgehogs they see - dead or alive - on journeys of 20 miles or more. See the Mammals Trust UK website - link below - for more information.

Mammals Trust UK

Original BBC News Article

Virus Heads for Red Squirrels

2005-06-16T08:57:00.000+01:00

This is really grim news. A virus discovered in 1980 that inhabits grey squirrels has proved to be fatal to red squirrels. Grey squirrels are usually unharmed by the virus. In Cumbria and Southern Scotland, red squirrels have been infected by migrating grey squirrels. Infected red squirrels typically die within two weeks.

The BBC article

Neil McIntyre's website - the premier UK photographer of red squirrels. (If you want to photograph them, he is your man)

Slow Growth to Blame for Extinction

2005-06-16T08:51:00.000+01:00

The Moa was a giant flightless bird that lived in New Zealand for a very long time, with only giant eagles to bother it. Just when I was thinking that human predation was solely responsible for the extinction of the moa, it turns out that in fact it was their slow growth that did it.

Apparently moas took ten years to reach maturity, which left them vulnerable to human hunters. Shortly before the arrival of humans in NZ around 700 years ago, their numbers crashed dramatically due to unknown causes. After that, they were wiped out in the space of about a hundred years once the first Polynesian settlers reached NZ.

If only they had grown up faster - surely that would have saved them...

The original article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4096032.stm

Who Ordered the Salmon?

2005-06-16T08:48:00.000+01:00

My friend Dave from Bird TLC brought this to my attention. Fortunately we don't have this problem in Hertfordshire!

"A bald eagle crashed through a window of a Ketchikan home and landed in the living room, scattering broken glass, feathers and a salmon carcass across the floor.

A few moments later, according to a neighbor who saw the whole thing, the bird popped back out the hole where the window had been and fled -- without the salmon carcass."

You can read the whole story here

And Dave's Bird TLC blog is here

Wild Cat Care

2005-06-03T08:40:00.000+01:00

The Cat Out Loud blog never disappoints. Here is a stunning entry on feral cats. It articulates frustrations felt by people involved in wildlife care when they read articles in the media.

The author despairs of the media coverage which says that "...even when we make mistakes (feed wildlife, ignore a fertile cats, send cats off to a shelter without thinking of reimbursing the shelter itself) it's OK as long as we feel wistfully sad about the whole thing and consider the cats our friends."

I couldn't agree more and I think it's another symptom of the problem which makes it a lot easier to save fluffy, cuddly species from extinction, than - say - the North Atlantic cod...

International Migratory Bird Day

2005-05-25T10:24:00.000+01:00

Damn, I missed International Migratory Bird Day - that'll teach me to check up on the BirdTLC blog more often!

International Migratory Bird Day "celebrates the incredible journeys of migratory birds between their breeding grounds in North America and their wintering grounds in Mexico, Central and South America. The event, which takes place on the second Saturday in May each year, encourages bird conservation and increases awareness of birds through hikes, bird watching, information about birds and migration, public events and a variety of other education programs."

I'm fascinated by bird migration - I find it amazing that one species can spend half it's time in the Okavango Delta and the other half in the Highlands of Scotland - two places that aren't very much alike!

Incidentally, I love David Sibley's art - he's the artist who did the picture on the front page of the Bird Day site. I see his work on a lot of calendars in the UK. As well as an accomplished artist, he also writes excellent bird guides.

The BirdTLC blog entry on Migratory Bird Day

The official International Migratory Bird Day website

David Sibley's website

Super Monkeys

2005-05-21T10:22:00.000+01:00

"Apes are 'super monkeys' in the same way that humans are 'super apes.'" William H. Calvin

When a species is faced with extinction, it is often because of the effects of human population expansion. If the threat increases and the species population declines, often human intervention becomes the only thing that can save the species. At that point, it really helps if the species is attractive or has interesting, newsworthy behaviour.

Bonobo apes are faced with extinction and fortunately, although not the most attractive of apes, they get a lot of headlines due to their unusual sexual behaviour. In a nutshell, they like to have sex every 90 minutes or so and aren't at all bothered about partner choice.

Researchers at the Great Ape Trust, in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, plan to house a group of Bonobos at a high-tech installation with video phones, webcams and flushing toilets along with the more conventional ape comforts such as climbing walls. The eight apes already have a limited human vocabulary, and the researchers are hoping the apes will improve their vocabulary, and develop visual and musical art. They are also hoping that these skills will be passed to future generations.

Let's hope the Bonobo 'Big Brother' experiment turns out well, but I have a feeling researchers might get a bit more than they bargained for. Especially if the apes get on to the internet...

Bonobos are classified as endangered ('EN') by the Red List. This means they are "facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future." Their full classification on the Red List is 'EN A2cd', which means a suspected reduction in the numbers of 80% in the next ten years or three generations, whichever is the longer, along with a number of other fine points which I don't understand (see below.)

Meet the Bonobos at the Des Moines Great Ape Trust

William H. Calvin's excellent Bonobo ape page. This is a very good resource on Bonobos.

Bonobos at the Arkive

The Red List How to decode the Red List codes

In my humble opinion Super Ape is one of the best ever dub reggae albums

Careful on the Roads in the UK

2005-05-06T10:19:00.000+01:00

The ducks round my way are positively suicidal at the moment. I guess many of them are looking for somewhere to nest. In any case, they are wandering straight into traffic on many of the main roads around Hertfordshire. Be careful - and do whatever you can to help them.

North American Bird Extinctions

2005-04-29T10:03:00.000+01:00

Six North American bird species were known or suspected to have become extinct since the 1870s. Fortunately we now know that the ivory-billed woodpecker is clinging on to life. The others are:

Labrador Duck (last one shot in 1878)
Eskimo Curlew (no confirmed sightings since mid-1980s but not officially extinct)
Carolina Parakeet (extinct in the wild 1904, in captivity 1918)
Passenger Pigeon (previous article here)
Bachman’s Warbler (no reports since 1988 but not officially extinct)

The Red List of endangered and extinct species is very useful, but grim reading.

Election Special on Habitat

2005-04-29T10:02:00.000+01:00

Have a look at the Habitat UK web site for all sorts of UK election news relating to wildlife and the environment. It's a fantastic resource: www.habitat.org.uk.

Rare Woodpecker Spotted

2005-04-29T10:01:00.000+01:00

"It is kind of like finding Elvis" Frank Gill, US National Audubon Society

Since its disappearance during the systematic logging of lowland forests in the southeastern US, the ivory-billed woodpecker has been thought extinct. The last confirmed sighting was in 1944, and even unconfirmed reports have been very few and far between.

Always a rare bird, ornithologists have searched hard for the lost woodpecker. A team sponsored by Zeiss Sports Optics recorded and analysed 4,000 hours of recordings from the Louisiana bayous, without success.

On 11 February 2004 Gene Sparling of Hot Springs, Arkansas spotted an unusually large red-crested woodpecker whilst he was kayaking in Big Woods. He reported his sighting to Cornell University's Living Bird magazine, and within a month they had located it and made several more sightings.

RSPB Article

BBC Article

Birdlife International Article

Several interesting articles relating to the ivory-billed woodpecker are at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology