Category: Wild Places

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Is Education the key to getting communities involved in conservation?

In Nigeria, the Wildlife Conservation Society has been taking a projector to remote villages around the cross gorillas range.

As in other parts of the world, often the humans that live on the edge of the wild animals range rarely see the animal. Indeed, it is often the case that the only locals who have seen the animal are hunters.

Might it be as simple as showing the locals what we are trying to protect?

It is essential to get local people on board when you are trying to protect mega fauna. One of the difficult things with many of the large mammals is that they breed slowly. As a result it is important to get human populations on side, as even a small number of animals killed can lead to the eventual loss of a whole species.

Conservationists appear to have to learn the same lesson over and over again. Without local people on side, you are almost always fighting a loosing battle. Local populations need to both have a great love for the wildlife that they live alongside, but also the ability for the communities to gain from the presence of the wildlife – whether this is because they get direct finance, or because there are jobs for the people in the village.

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Silent whale watching boats in Iceland

Whale watching is an activity that use an economic boost to sea communities all over the world. In most of the world watching whales from land is not possible (apart from somewhere like hermanus in South Africa).

Quite understandably whales and other marine mammals do not like the noise of the motor, they will often change their behaviour as the boat heads towards them. This interruption may soon be a thing of the past.

Whale watching without the noisy boat engine

Iceland has introduced several electric whale watching boats.

Continue reading “Silent whale watching boats in Iceland”
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Wild travel can resume!

With the improving covid situation worldwide finally we can return to visiting wild areas of the planet. Not only has the tourist industry missed this basil so it has had a terrible impact on conservation efforts in many parts of the world.

This is because in many cases there is not enough money to protect animals without out.the tourist dollars that they bring in. Since covid start there have been very few tourists arriving in many of these countries.

Yet this situation is changing. Now, many countries in Africa are considered completely safe. There have been less infections across the whole of Africa than have been reported in the UK – now while some of this may be down to poor health care (there are slightly more people who have died from covid in Africa than the UK), clearly your risk in Africa is far lower than your risk in the UK.

My family will be travelling to Kruger in South Africa in August! Obviously I hope for this to create many stories for this site and videos for the sister YouTube channel.

My other aim is to be able to list all of the public rest stops on the website after this trip. 

What does this mean?

Currently we only list the private reserves along the borders of the Kruger. These are fantastic ways of seeing wildlife. You will be pampered indeed spoilt, by the wonderful treatment you will receive. 

However, even amongst wealthy people, the cost of these lodges can become prohibitive – a one week safari in some of these places can run to $10,000 or more per person.

Of course on this website we wish to cater for people who have large amounts of money, however we are not in this category and we want to cater for everyone.

Self-drive safaris are something that many people greatly enjoy. With a little bit of research you can quickly become competent at finding the animal to yourself (sighting maps in each rest stop help). There is something liberating about entering an area so large, and being able to go where you like as you like, exploring whichever part of the park you prefer.

On self-drive safaris your accommodation is different. Generally you have the choice of setting up your own tent, taking a hut, or in some places a mid option is a a fancy safari tent. These obviously very in price, but even in the most expensive you are likely to be spending less over your whole holiday then you would for one night on a private reserve.

For those who could afford it I would recommend to do a self-drive safari with a couple of days on a private reserve at the beginning or end of your trip.

DO CONSIDER BOOKING TRIPS ABROAD. THESE RESERVES WILL BE LESS CROWDED THAN NORMAL, AND WE CAN STOP RESERVES BEING TURNED INTO HUNTING AREAS IF WE RETURN SOON ENOUGH.

All of the partners on this site have very reasonable policies on cancelation if this is necessary because of Covid.

There is also the advantage at the moment, that most airlines have a simple policy of cancellation if advice suggests that travel is not wise.

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Conservationists are looking to release a herd of European Bison into the UK, Blean woods near Canterbury – first in 6000 years

European Bison (or close relatives) were once an important part of the UK fauna, as the largest UK mammal, they had the strength to push down trees and therefore had an important role of ecosystem engineer.

The project is aimed at starting by reintroducing these animals into Blean woods near Canterbury. I have walked in Blean woods a number of times, as it is close to where my father works some of the year. Only a small herd will live in this wood (alongside iron age pigs, longhorn cattle and exmoor ponies) but these 4 species are likely to have a great deal of impact on the woodland.

For the time being, the Bison will live in a 150 hectare enclosure, with no footpaths, never the less the hope is that descendants of these pioneers could be released into truly wild parts of the UK.

Admittedly, the European Bison probably never lived in the UK, but the steppe bison an incredibly similar animal did.

A major part of the rangers job will be to take people on walks in the enclosure. This will help people get used to the idea. After all, there are currently no wild animals in the UK that weigh anywhere near the tonne that these animals would weigh.

These gentle giants would do wonders for the British ecosystem, and I for one look forwards to the time when seeing European Bison is like spotting highland ponies or wild horses in different parts of the country.

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Blue whales are returning to Spain’s Atlantic coast after a 40 year absence. What now

The first blue whale sighted in decades from this part of the world, was spotted off Spain’s coast in 2017, a different individual appeared in 2018 and a third in 2019. In 2020 2 returned.

At the end of September another was sighted off the coast of Spain.

It is unsure why they are back. Are they returning because they now feel safe? Or has climate change moved their food? Either way, it is quite something to see these huge animals returning to areas where they were hunted almost to extinction by humans.

Just before the whaling moratorium came into force, an entire generation of whales was wiped out. Now the descendants of the few who survived are returning. Some researchers are concerned that they are being forced north by global warming. Given that blue whales dont seem to cross the equator, if each population is pushed towards the poles, their habitat will be significantly reduced. Furthermore, their dung fertilizes ocean upper waters (areas with little nutrients) allowing phytoplankton to bloom, thereby capturing more carbon – and when I say more carbon, we are talking about 4 times the amount of carbon stored in the Amazon rainforest.

Whale recovery still has a long way to go. Before whaling started, there was estimated to be 4-5 million whales in the planets seas. At the current time, there are 1.3 million or roughly a quarter of pre whaling numbers. Importantly, the blue whale was so mercilessly hunted, that they have not recovered to anywhere near pre whaling numbers: their current population is only thought to be around 3% of historical numbers.

These animals are worth far more alive than dead. I realize that some communities have eaten whale for millennia. However there are several caveats to this. Firstly we have abandoned other environmentally damaging behaviours, why should we allow this. Secondly, few if any of the currently whaling countries rely on whaling to survive. In fact, with many of these communities, whaling is a recent activity. The Faroe islands kill thousands of dolphins and small whales each year, but they do not need all this meat, and this slaughter so colours peoples views that they loose far more in tourism revenue than they gain in the meat.

What ever is decided long-term to do with whale hunting, it is clear that blue whales should be left alone for a very long time more – many blue whale communities are flourishing with their population growing by 7-8% a year. However, given blue whales are at roughly 3% currently, it would take over half a century at current rates for the blue whale population to return to the numbers pre hunting.

Until the arrival of a blue whale off the coast is no longer memorable, there should not be any discussion about any harvesting. Furthermore, if the amount of carbon sequestration done by each whale is as high as it is thought, any meat should be priced high enough to pay for this (if this were to be done whale meat would be too expensive for almost anyone to afford)

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Brush-tailed Bettongs reintroduced into South Australia

The Brush-tailed Bettong was almost lost from the whole of mainland Australia, after Europeans introduced cats and foxes from home.

A Brush tailed Bettong credit to Arthur Chapman

As an ecosystem engineer (like the European Beaver in the UK) its absence has caused problems for the greater ecosystem as a whole. Looking like a cross between a rat and a kangaroo it eats a variety of fungi. When they dig up fungi and truffles, they spread fungal spores to the wind, as well as on their feet. without them many fungis may well disapear, leaving soils far less healthy.

40 were translocated, and the move has gone so well, that some of the individuals have already started dispersing into the surrounding area.

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Politicians from across the political spectrum have come together to agree $400 million measures to help save the Florida panther

The money will be used to expand wildlife corridors, which will allow easier gene flow, as well as benefitting all wildlife in the area – including prey which in places is severely lacking.

Currently agreed requirements for the animal to be taken off the endangered list is 3 established populations of a couple of hundred each.

The changes would also benefit key deer, Florida manatee and loggerhead sea turtles.

It is rare that conservation efforts are supported on all side. In other areas Republicans have not been good at supporting Conservation in the last few years – let us hope that this will lead to a change in the wider Republican party.

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New Australian study on reef in a no fishing zone, shows what can happen when reefs are untouched by humans

The reef in question – The Rowley Shoals, are an isolated archipelago about 260km off Australia’s north west coast.

What was found was incredible. Between its protection from fishing, its location and the shape of the reef it has sustained species long lost elsewhere.

Species of giant fish like humphead Maori wrasse and humphead Parrotfish (both growing to over 1.5m were a regular sight, despite the fact that globally they are threatened with extinction. Of particular excitement, across the long study, there was no discernible change in the quantity of these fish – even as they were seen less and less regularly elsewhere.

  • Humphead Parrotfish Tchami
  • Humphead Wrasse Larry Koester

Efforts must be made to maintain reefs like this, in their unblemished state. These reefs are far more capable of dealing with environmental changes, and hopefully one day there will be a need to reseed reefs in more accessible parts of the world.

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Asiatic Lions are being recorded 100km from their reserve in the Gir forest

At the current time, there is only one home for the Asiatic lion. this is despite many millions spent to change this situation. For a decade Gir forest has been meant to transfer a handful of lions to Kuno reserve, in order to give them a second home.

Why is this important? We need multiple homes for Asiatic lions. There was recently a huge storm over their one home. It is not unthinkable for the Gir forest to be devastated by something similar.

Might Gir lions be ignoring the rulings of local politicians and spreading anyway?

The government of this part of India has declared exclusive rights to the lions – an absurd claim given these lions once roamed across Asia, north Africa and southern parts of Europe.

It would appear that lions are taking matters into their own hands (or paws). Gir forest has a lion density way too high, which is leading to high mortality from fights between males and infanticide to bring females back into oestrus

Lions are now regularly seen as far away as Madhavpur an area which would take hours to drive to (from Gir national park). They have also created new populations in Girnar, paniya Mitiyala reserves as well as in a whole host of unprotected zones.

One of the areas that the lions have been moving into is Jasdan-Chotila. Lions disappeared from this area about 150 years ago, but the area is still well suited to them. There are various species of prey, and leopards have survived in the area. There are various mitigations that locals would have to make to live comfortably alongside lions. There are also many wells in the area, which will have to have walls built around them, to stop the lions falling in. Lions falling to their deaths have been a significant reason that the Gir lion population has not grown bigger in recent years.

Still this is exciting, though it should force local politicians to look at the health of the lion population as well as their own bottom line as the only place to see Asiatic lions.

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Only 6.5% of the worlds forests are adequately protected!

Recent analysis has shown that designating an area protected, reducing threats it faces but does not eliminate them, and the study showed that deforestation inside a protected reserve is only 41% less likely to occur.

This view is repeated all over the earth

Now this is certainly a good reduction in risk, however, this still leaves substantial risk, and leaves us with the true figure of roughly 6.5%

If the earth is to avoid crippling climate change, we need all the forest we can retain.

We must do better

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