aaa Valdes Peninsular

Valdes peninsular

The Valdes peninsular is a huge axe shaped slab of rock which sticks out 62 miles into the Atlantic from the coast of Argentina. With an area of 1390 square miles, and despite looking barren supports a surprising array of wildlife. Marine mammals include colonies of Southern elephant seals, fur seals, southern sea lions, penguins dolphins and orca congregate on shore and around the coast.

Despite looking barren, the rock does have 130 species of plants growing on it. Guanacos graze here, and live alongside hares, harbour Rheas, Grey foxes, and even wildcats. There are also around 180 species of bird from both marine habitats and further inshore.

May 28, 2023May 25, 2023

In the UK solar farms are wild havens, could this be repeated?

In the UK, it has been shown that at every solar farm looked at, there were more species, from insects such as butterflies, to mammals such as hares do well.

I would argue that these areas are not as good as reserves, but it is still a positive benefit. Indeed, it is conceivable that if wolves and bears returned to the UK, these sites could be fantastic for these animals.

Can solar farms not only supply our electricity, but also be essential habitat for many UK species

Continue reading “In the UK solar farms are wild havens, could this be repeated?”

February 10, 2022June 28, 2022

Has myxomatosis leapt species from rabbits to hares?

Rabbits are not native in the UK. They were introduced about 1000 years ago. the first Myxomatosis outbreak in the uk was in 1953. There have been various foolish uses of this disease (the Iberian Lynx is largely only threatened with extinction because it relied heavily on rabbits for food, and these disappeared when myxomatosis was introduced.

Hares are a native species, so it is of greater concern if they are being eradicated. More than 1100 hares have been identified as having died from this, over the last 4 years. Now, as they currently have a population of more than 800,000 individuals, this is not currently a big concern. However if the outbreak has a similar impact to rabbits, then hares could disappear from parts of the UK.

It is already thought to have lost 80% of its population over the last 100 years.

Unfortunately, with our modern habit of farming breeds of wild species, we are giving perfect conditions for new viruses to appear.