Category: wildlife

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Further threat for Nairobi national park

The first national park to be formed in Kenya would appear to be under threat. Consisting of only 45 square miles, it is unique around the world as the wilderness comes deep into the city, allowing you to view many wild species with skyscrapers as a backdrop.

There are few places in the world where you can see wild lions against a city backdrop

Wildlife populations have crashed in the last 70 or so years. In the past huge migrations would bring 30,000 wildebeest to visit each year, and animals such as zebra have had population falls of approaching 50% in just 9 years.

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Wolf hunting in the USA: Wisconsin Hunt vastly overshoots

Under Trump, the American wolf lost its endangered species status. 

This was not a scientific decision, it was a political. It is true that the number of wolves in North America has grown dramatically since hunting was banned across most areas. However it is absolutely absurd to suggest that the population has recovered.

Wolves roam Wisconsin once again, will they be allowed to remain?
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On pure numbers of fatalities (not to mention cost, simplicity and and health of our ecosystems), wolf reintroduction is a no-brainer

In the half a century running up to the year 2002, there are only 8 recorded fatalities from wolf attacks across the whole of Europe and western Russia. Also when thinking about this number we need to remember that the majority of these sorts of occurred in parts of the world where there are many wolves such as Western Russia.

Wolves are returning to territory that they have not been present in for decades or in places even centuries
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The Chinese alligator – critically endangered in the wild yet with tens of thousands captive members

These animals were covered during the BBC wild China series a few years ago, and as such a relatively poorly known but highly important animal which plays an important part of the ecosystem in this part of China has likely been saved – though there is still much work to do.

Chinese Alligator being returned to the wild

As with an awful lot of other wildlife found within the borders of China, the Chinese alligator is severely endangered. In the wild it’s population numbers around 150, at this population is highly fragmented and no habitat has a significant number of these animals. 

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A second attempt to introduce lynx into Northumberland is being proposed

The UK has been predator free (at least large predators that can threaten humans and have to regularly kill to survive) for roughly 300 years. Wolves disappeared around 300 years ago, bears are thought to have gone extinct around 1,000 years ago and lynx are thought that have gone extinct about 1,300 years ago.

Wild lynx can be incredibly impressive when seen, but most of the time they are not seen even by though whose job means they spend their time in the same habitat. Not that people don’t try, lynx are charismatic animals and people will spend much time trying to get a glimpse
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Pablo Escobar’s zoo’s hippo population has grown from about 30 to between 65 and 80 – what might happen in the future?

Pablo Escobar was a drug kingpin in Columbia. Extraordinarily successful he had the money for some pretty impressive personal items including a zoo. Rather alarmingly, when Pablo Escobar’s rein over his crime and drug empire ended, his zoo was not looked after. A variety of things happened to the animals, but the hippos were largely left in the wild to their own devices.

The problem is that with vast amounts of food and no natural predators in numbers have multiplied rapidly and is currently thought to fall between 65 and 80.

Continue reading “Pablo Escobar’s zoo’s hippo population has grown from about 30 to between 65 and 80 – what might happen in the future?”
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Perhaps one good thing come out of the epidemic-Chinese people are finally prepared to change behaviour towards wild animals

Unfortunately as the wealth of the Chinese middle class has grown, these several 100,000,000 extra people have wanted the traditional medicines that supposedly there ruling ancestors once enjoyed. The start of the epidemic that we are just starting to recover from, was caused by poaching of wild animals. It is likely that there are many more forms of bacteria and virus living deep in rainforests and other wildernesses around the world. Might the risk of a further outbreak, finally force the Chinese government to halt the insane poaching that its people have caused around the world?

In order to deliver these raw materials for so called chinese medicine (I say so called, as no scientific study has been able to show a link between any of these treatments and a change in human conditions) animals have to be hunted. These animals are protected, and so this demand drive poaching that can locally eliminate these animals from ecosystems.

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The virungas national park continues to be dangerous for rangers

6 more rangers have been killed in the Virunga national park on the border between the DRC Uganda and Rwanda. Likely, currently one of the most dangerous places to try to protect wildlife – many rangers have been killed over the years. Lying where 3 countries meet; Democratic republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, there has been regular flare ups, of fighting. Also militia groups have regularly taken refuge in this huge wilderness, hunting all wildlife for food.

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Absurd green washing of an environmental failure

One of the most reliable forms of renewable electricity generation is hydro. Create a dam, and then make electricity when ever you release the water from behind it. However, there are clearly places where this is not going to be good for the environment.

The Belo Monte dam is sold as part of the fight against global warming. This is however not a green project, indeed apart from the destruction of a huge area of rainforest, its construction will emit more carbon than it could possibly save in the next several hundred years

If the river that is dammed is running through a forest, then the flooding will cover the rainforest. What happens then? Well all the carbon that is stored in the trees, and the ground is released back into the air.

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Elephant counting from space

For the first time the population of elephants in addo elephant park in South Africa has been counted from space using computer learning.

Counting elephants from space is increasingly possible. Why is this good? it can be done cheaply, and therefore can be done regularly. This allows remote reserve poaching epidemics to be noticed early. As elephants are often the first animal to be targeted, automated satellite counts could give early warning about parks in danger.

The satellite images now taken are detailed enough to show each individual elephant has a separate grey blob. Then by using computer learning, a program can be taught to count these accurately.

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