Hello and welcome to my latest
wildlife publication and it has been a while. Life really has been busy over
the last few months, particularly recently as I have just returned from a month
volunteering in the Costa Rican rainforest. It was a truly incredible
experience and the memories will certainly last a lifetime. I will go into a
little more detail on that later however I would prefer to start off this piece
with some eye catching wildlife related headlines from the past couple of
months. As always I hope you enjoy
reading and feel free to give feedback.
A miracle in Guatemala.
The finca chiblac salamander and
the long limed salamander have been offered a major lifeline having been lost
to science for four decades and seeming doomed to extinction thanks primarily
to alarming habitat loss. The change in fortune for the amphibians comes as a
result of a land purchase by the World Land Trust and funders Fundación Para
el Ecodesarrollo y la Conservación (FUNDAECO). The importance of Finca San
Isidro was recognised back in 2009 while the finalisations of the transaction
concluded in September of this year. The 800 acres secured will no doubt benefit
many other species with FUNDAECO responsible for overseeing the conservation
management of the area.
Kelp gull harassment could contribute
to increased mortality in southern right whale calves.
Between 2003 and 2014, 600 southern right
whale deaths were recorded at the Peninsula Valdes calving grounds, Argentina.
This is an abnormally large number in comparison to calve fatalities recorded
in other calving grounds over the same time frame. Kelp gulls feed on the blubber
and skin of living whales and this form of harassment has also increased over
time. This rise in recorded wounds on mother and young could prove to be an
influencing factor in the increased mortality rate in young whales. Pairs
attacked more frequently seem to spend depleted time nursing and resting and
consequently may suffer from dehydration, poor thermoregulation and energy
loss.
A new species of the highly
venomous Australian death adder has been discovered in the Kimberley region of
Australia.
Another highly venomous snake has
been discovered in Australia in the form of the Kimberly death adder. The
reptilian predator has the trademark diamond shaped head and stout body
associated with snakes of the Acanthophis genus, while its identifying trait is
the larger number of scales on its underbelly, which are unpigmented. With a
sit and wait predatory lifestyle, unsuspecting prey such as lizards and frogs
it seems would be well advised to be extra vigilant with this lethal predator poised
ready to strike.
Burrowing lizards may provide the
link to the emergence of snakes.
BBC Wildlife Magazine, October 2015.
Cowbirds – A repeated menace.
Brown headed cowbirds are a brood
parasite however research has found they still keep a watchful eye on their
young. The study which lasted 21 years in Illinois observed prothonotary warblers
raising cowbird chicks. Researchers discovered the probability of cowbirds
returning to warbler nests increases if they successfully raised a cowbird
chick previously. This provides the first documentation of brood parasites
using experience to improve reproductive success.
BBC Wildlife Magazine, November, 2015.
One predator extinction can cause
the extinction of other carnivores.
A study conducted by Exeter
University has found the extinction of one predator can have disastrous knock
on effects for other carnivore species. Forty square metre field cages were
used to contain numerous aphid species and parasitoid wasps making up detailed
food webs. Observations took place throughout spring and summer. When one
species of wasp was removed, the direct consequence was a greater rate of
extinction in other wasp species. The aphids targeted by the removed wasp
species increased in number. Eventually this lead to other aphid species being
crowded out making it harder for wasps specifically targeting them to find them
thus leading to their eventual extinction.
This outcome led Dr Sanders an
associate research fellow at Exeter University to say “Knowing how such
extinction cascades can happen gives us a better understanding and helps us to
predict when they might happen. If we want to protect an endangered carnivore
species, for example, we might need to protect other predators around it, which
is quite an important message”.
Costa Rican Adventures.
As I mentioned previously, I have
recently returned from a month in the Costa Rican rainforest assisting on a
range of scientific surveys. The last thing I want to do in this section is
sound like a “travel bore” I would rather focus on the incredible wildlife I was
lucky enough to see whilst on survey. At the bottom of this piece I have
attached a link for more information on the project and the organisation
themselves Global Vision International. I would thoroughly recommend taking a
look, the wildlife is amazing however so are the people involved with this
project, staff and fellow volunteers all of them are now my friends and thanks
to them I have memories that will last a lifetime.
Thank goodness for flies.
Being grateful for flies may seem like a
strange sentiment in the rainforest. The sheer numbers of them mean they have
an uncanny ability to irritate anything unfortunate enough to cross their path.
On one early morning however en route to conduct an incidentals survey the
sheer annoyance they caused led us to experience a mind blowing sighting. Our
survey leader made the decision to change route to the survey start point to
try and avoid them seemingly unrelenting hordes of flies. A decision gratefully
received as we left the coastal rainforest and headed out onto the beach from
there we aimed to reconnect with the survey start point. As we walked we saw
jaguar tracks and I remembered that I was still without a photo of them and so out
came the camera. Barely had I finished when our survey leader instructed us not
to move. He had immediately seen something we hadn’t well camouflaged even in
the intensifying sunlight crouching behind a large group of vultures. In front of us, approximately 200 metres away
was a jaguar, a male and a big one at that. My heart pounded this was an experience
I never dared think possible. There he was however relaxed, feeding on a
freshly killed turtle with the vultures around him acting as a mere inconvenience.
Despite being visible with the naked eye, it was binoculars that really did him
justice, not just in his beauty but also his power and authority that oozed out
of him with every step he took. We watched for ten minutes with brown pelicans
flying overhead while he fed, stopping only occasionally to chase away vultures
and to check us out. Even at the distance we were away, a stare like his
certainly can make you feel small and powerless very quickly. Eventually he
retreated into the undergrowth, presumably to sleep off his meal while we were
left awestruck and pinching ourselves as to whether or not what we just saw
really happened.
To even hope to see another jaguar would have been ambitious at
best seemingly hopeless at worst. Less than 24 hours had passed however when, whilst
on a jag walk where signs of jaguar predation, activity and turtle tracks are
recorded, did lightening strike twice. Once more our survey leader spotted the
stunning predator. This time a young jaguar again on a kill and on this
occasion the sight of people was enough to alarm it into breaking into cover
within seconds, a brief glimpse but something truly special.
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| A long way away, the picture looks better in larger format he is there I promise ! |
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| Jaguar footprints, little did we know what was in store for us. |
A great river sighting.
Going out on bird surveys out on the water was certainly a prospect that excited me as particularly growing up I had been
an avid bird watcher. As part of our training and preparation for the surveys
we were taken out on a boat to see first hand the species we would be recording.
We saw a range of species from northern jacanas to the magnificent bare
throated tiger heron however it was a different heron species that proved to be
the highlight of the day. Thanks to an incredible piece of spotting from
another volunteer, our attention was drawn to a stunning boat billed heron, cautious
at first using the vegetation before appearing out in the open allowing us a
sighting in all its glory especially the trademark boat bill. It was a day to remember
and certainly my favourite bird sighting.
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| Boat billed heron, stunning. |
Amazing amphibians.
Think of Costa Rica and a few
species immediately come to mind, macaws, various turtles, jaguars, sloths and
the red eyed tree frog the latter of which was most definitely on my list of
species to see. Night surveys never failed to capture the imagination and
opened up a whole new world of weird and wonderful species and amongst many memorable
moments included a sighting of a beautiful but very venomous coral snake. It
was on a night survey where myself, the survey leader and my fellow volunteers
were treated to an encounter with one of Costa Rica’s most iconic species. The
shine of our torches showed off the red eyed tree frogs stunning colouration
and having observed the amphibian resting on a leaf, we left it to continue
with its night of hunting delighted at our good fortune.
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| An icon of Costa Rican wildlife and a wonderful animal. |
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| The scarlet webbed tree frog was a frequent encounter on surveys. |
A highly venomous encounter.
I have always had a fascination
with snakes I’m not sure exactly why but even at primary school age I could
rattle off numerous highly venomous snakes and key facts about them. Needless
to say the prospect of seeing the most venomous snake in Central America – the fer
der lance was most certainly a prospect that intrigued me. It was again an
incidentals survey which provided the stage for an unforgettable encounter.
The survey itself had been
relatively quiet and with only a few metres remaining this looked unlikely to
change. Around the nest corner however things most certainly did, our survey
leaders arm shot out in front of us stopping us from walking any further. Just
as well he did for lying coiled in the path in front of us resting, hard to
spot with its superb camouflage was a juvenile fer der lance. It took a few
seconds for what we were looking at to sink in. This was one of the most
venomous snakes in the world seemingly undisturbed by our presence which was
needless to say a healthy distance away. We stood, we watched, we took pictures
and we admired its beauty. The snake was not all bothered by us, it is important
to remember venom is a precious resource to snakes in nearly all cases they don’t
want to use it unless they have to. We were never in danger of taking a “hit”
and when we left the snake was as relaxed as when we arrived, a perfect
encounter.
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| The most venomous snake in Central America. |
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| Eyelash palm pit viper, highly venomous and not adverse to coming into camp, one was found in the shower! |
A turtle experience.
Prior to this trip my only experiences
with green turtles had come through television and literature. Nothing can you prepare
you for their size and certainly not for the humbling effort it takes for them
to lay their eggs. So graceful in water, their size works against them on land as they
haul themselves up the beach leaving themselves extremely vulnerable to predation
from jaguars lurking in the shadows. The numerous carcasses of those who didn’t
make it are testament to that.
On my first night walk my I had a
real mix of nervous excitement, mainly excitement I knew seeing a turtle for
the first time was going to be amazing. I was not wrong myself and the other
volunteers were able to see the entire nesting process it was incredible, truly
incredible. We assisted with the recording off the scientific data and for as
long as I live I will never forget giving a turtle a body check searching for
any abnormalities it was thoroughly worth getting a mouthful of sand having
failed to dodge the spay ! Neither will I forget the intimate moments of
counting the eggs being laid having an experience like that, that’s a privilege.
Watching a turtle returning to sea having done all she can for the next
generation is a reminder as if I needed one of why I love this truly incredible
natural world.
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| We stood over this green turtle hatchling along with its siblings while vultures circled above. |
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| A critically endangered hawksbill makes his way to sea, fingers crossed for him. |
I have so many memories I could
write seemingly forever, but then I would become what I feared a travel bore and no one wants that! I will leave it on this note however, if you feel like you
would enjoy a howler monkey alarm clock, love wildlife, love hard work, want to
meet amazing people from all over the world and can live without home comforts
then this may well an adventure for you too.
I really hope you’ve enjoyed reading
and thank you for doing so, all the best,
George.
Twitter @Reallywildwykes
Email –grwykes@gmail.com
