UK – Page 10 – See Animals Wild

March 19, 2021March 23, 2021

After foolish coal mine is cancelled MPs are angry

I wrote about a month ago about a deep coal mine in Cumbria that was green-lit. Thankfully this foolish plan was reversed.

At a time when many fossil fuel extraction locations around the world will have to stop working without exhausting the resource, the idea of starting a new one is ridiculous. Particularly stupid is to decide to do this, the year that the UK is to host a climate conference – with the purpose of agreeing more cuts.

March 16, 2021March 23, 2021

The UK has had much positive impact on conservation around the world, so why keep culling badgers despite the evidence?

Research done in the UK though not published (despite being completed 2 years ago) clearly shows that badgers are highly unlikely to infect cattle.

A highly popular species the government continues to blame them for a disease which at best they are a small factor in

March 10, 2021July 1, 2022

Wildcats set to return to southern England 150 years since their extinction in England and Wales

Once common across the whole of the UK, they were hunted to extinction. Currently, just a handful remain in Scotland. While interbreeding between wildcats and feral domestic cats is normally rare, in the current situation feral cats outnumber wildcats 1000 to one, and as such the wildcat is essentially extinct.

Could wildcats roam an English county once again – as early as next year?

The farmer who is looking to reintroduce them, currently has 6 pairs, which he is hoping to increase to 150 individuals and to start reintroducing perhaps as early as next year.

March 9, 2021July 1, 2022

Pine martens released near Bangor, Wales

Despite the fact that British citizens have done much good work towards to conservation of wildlife and wilderness in the world, we have been less successful in the UK. Having largely eradicated a small arboreal predator from much of the UK, we then decided to introduce the grey squirrel from the USA.

Bangor pine marten – 4 were reintroduced a year ago, and seem to be doing well

Spending more time on the ground, and being far less agile than their red smaller cousins, grey squirrels cannot coexist with pine martens.

March 7, 2021July 1, 2022

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

February 28, 2021July 1, 2022

The Daily Mail is claiming blue hydrogen is better fuel for cars: let’s see if it is (hint of course not)

As in the USA, some of the UK newspapers have an illogical hatred of electric cars. Perhaps chief amongst them, in the UK, is the Daily Mail. Now, I’m unsure what it’s problem is, but this article is littered with errors.

February 20, 2021July 1, 2022

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

February 19, 2021July 1, 2022

Plans for first deep coal mine in 20 years, the Cumbrian government is now having to reconsider permission for a deep coal mine

At a time when many people are discussing whether we can even afford to continue to extract the fossil fuels we have already started to extract, and when the government is talking about leading the world in cutting fossil fuel use, the local Cumbrian government has given permission for the first deep coal mine in 30 years.

This decision by the Cumbrian local government has been remade on three occasions. The government of the UK in Westminster has claimed this is a local matter and that they have no right to get involved. Obviously this is patently absurd – what’s more if we are to have any chance of meeting our emission reduction promises the government must immediately abandon its foolish position, and make it clear that it is not going to happen.

Clearly despite the promises made about reducing carbon emissions, and the progress made in places such as virtually the end of coal burning for power, are not baked in successes and we must make sure to keep the pressure on the government to keep going and indeed ratchet up the speed of which we deal with a problems.

Hides

There are many animals that are almost impossible to see. This is for a variety of reasons, but the most common is that the animal is nocturnal and or shy.

For this reason hides are very useful. They essentially consist of something that the people can sit in, so that they are invisible to the wildlife in the area, allowing the wildlife to approach without fear.

In the UK the majority of hides are set up for bird watching, though I have also visited badger hides. In Europe the majority of hides are set up to watch bears (many were once hunting hides), though if lucky wolves can be seen from these on occasion as well. In Africa there are all sorts of animals to be seen from a hide at night – generally animals rarely seen during the day, such as Aardvark.

Some hides have beds so you stay in them throughout the night, others are used just in the evening or the morning. Also of interest is where the hide is, for instance if the hides below lies in Sweden. Due to its latitude, during the summer months it is bright enough to see for much of the night, which obviously makes visits more valuable. Other hides will have night vision googles, still more will mount infrared or visible lightsi

If you own or operate a hide and would like to be listed on this page please click here

List your wild place

Would you like to list your wildlife destination on this site?

Wildlife fascinates most people. From vast wildernesses set aside by governments to wildlife thatlives alongside humans, all can potentially benefit locals.

On this website, our aim is to allow people to benefit from wildlife around them. . Whether you live or work in one of the worlds great wildernesses or national parks, or you own wilderness (Sabi sands, one of the oldest private reserves borders the Kruger), or you simply still have wildlife living on your land (whatever the use) we want to help people find you, so that you can show them all the wonderful wildlife on your land, and financially benefit from their visit.

There are examples of each type of page to look at. Do look at the ecosystem you are located in/by is already listed as we can add further options, but will not list ecosystems more than once.

We follow a relatively simplistic booking process, where a form on the website will generate an email booking. We can also include a calendar showing your availability.

There is a link to a form for each category, as well as a further form at the bottom of the page for any questions. This form includes the ability to submit photos of your offering and the wildlife in your vicinity (both are of importance, unless your wildlife destination is already listed) . We work on a simple pricing structure, where we charge you 10% of the cost of any booking that you recieve through us. (opens in a new tab)

Do you run a lodge or campsite within a protected area?

As you can see we have listed a number of lodges in parts of Africa, but the aim of this site was to simplify wild travel and so we are keen to work with any lodge that would like to.

In order to list your property, we will need:

Pictures of your accommodation, with information on cost and amenities
Information on the wilderness that surrounds your property, whether it is information on a national park or reserve.
Information as to what wildlife can be seen in the area, with some good pictures.

Feel free to view our lodges and reserves currently public to see what your listing can look like. If you are particular about your branding look, we are happy to put up your listing as you would like. Fill in the form at the link below

Fill in the form in this link to list your wild place -campsite lodge or similar

Or perhaps you run a wildlife hide of some kind

For many people the only way they can have a chance of seeing many animals, particularly nocturnal ones, is by sitting in a hide. Many of my most memorable wildlife moments have been had sitting in a wildlife hide watching something unfold in front of me. This need not be on protected land, so long as the hide is not ever used for hunting.

In order to list your hide, we will need:

Pictures of your hide with information on cost and amenities.
Pictures of the view people will get from the hide
Pictures of some of the wildlife that has been photographed from the hide, as well as information on frequency and anything else of interest.

See our one example currently live

https://seeanimalswild.com/wildsweden-bear-hide/

Fill in the form you will find if you click on this text to list your hide (bear bird or some other hide -hunting hides not accepted)

Or perhaps you share your vicinity with wildlife

Whatever the reason that you own land, it will be part of a natural ecosystem and as such you are likely to have some animals that live on it with you. This can cause complications with many land uses such as farming, where predators may eat some of your livestock. Many people will happily pay to have a chance of seeing some of these animals that can be a complication, and by utilising these visits you can make some extra money to help offset any financial losses from predation or damage to property. This could range from South African farmers who share their land with cheetahs, to European farmers who might share their land with bears or wolves, or perhaps simply an active badgers sett in the UK. Alternatively, you could own a restaurant where bush babies could be seen in the evening. The possibilities are endless.

To be listed we will need:

Details and photos of the land and wildlife that is found on it. If people are finding you on this website, they are interested in wildlife, so this should be the primary selling point. (if your ecosystem has already been added, this section can be skipped (while telling us which ecosystem it falls in)
What services you offer: are you just a guide or can you offer a place to stay as well, and where you are
Accommodation (camping or hut etc). This is particularly important if the wildlife is nocturnal or is based in a particularly remote area
A game drive to see the wildlife at a set time (or perhaps information about where to drive). Alternatively, if the wildlife you see is often in the same place (bushbaby or similar) perhaps people can sit comfortably while they watch. Many restaurants and bars have wildlife around them, we are eager to help people interested in wildlife to find you. However, it could just be a comfortable place to watch (or park a car). This could be anything from interesting birds, lizards to animals that are more exciting like leopards or bears or wolves.
Any other information that you would like to pass on
Information on pricing

Fill in the form in this link if you see a lot of wildlife on your land and would like to be able to invite other people to see it

Finally, we are keen to support wildlife guides, boat trips and wildlife drives.

Even in some of the wildest places on earth, it is very easy to spend weeks there and see none of the local animals.

A wildlife guide can make a big difference. Be it a trip on a boat to sea the marine life, or a car journey into a reserve nearby.

I am aware though, how often, it is hard to connect with local guides when you are visiting an area. We have visited wildernesses on several occasions and failed to find a guide to help us see what we are looking for.

As such I am keen to list local guides, and the ability to book.

To be listed, I will need:

Some information about the wildlife you often see when you take people out, preferably with some pictures (and where)
What services you offer (are you just a guide or can you offer a place to stay as well)
Any other information that you would like to pass on
Pricing

Fill in the form in this link if you are a wildlife guide and would like to list your services on our website, or you run trips to see marine wildlife, or in reserves around your home.

if you have a question or do not believe that your wildlife encounter falls in one of these categories please fill in the form below (we aim to be a place where the whole of the wildlife tourism industry (bar any form of hunting) if we do not serve your field let us know, we can either create a new section or instead fit it into another area.

Have a look at the listings we currently have to get an idea of what your listing will look like, and what we need.