That missed sighting

Hello and welcome to my latest blog. As I mentioned in my previous piece, I have recently started volunteering at my local nature reserve and with the weather significantly improving, the flooding which had thwarted much of my efforts on an earlier visit had largely disappeared. It was such a joy to be serenaded by an assortment of bird songs while I worked, however despite my best efforts to locate the culprits, the long reed beds concealed them perfectly. Rabbits scampered over the grassland a mixture of playful and exuberance and nervous energy constantly alert to the slight rustle in a nearby bush or an unfamiliar scent which may betray the presence of a predator. And while watching all of this I still kept a faint hope that I may just catch a glimpse of one of the resident otters perhaps lurking on the river bank. It was not to be. However there's always next time for that ambition to be realised.

 

That missed sighting

"Can't you see it"!? "No. Where ?!" "It's just disappeared can't believe you didn't see it". We've all had conversations similar to that haven't we ? When you chose to look away at precisely the moment something you would desperately not want to miss suddenly presents itself and then just as quickly disappears. This happened again only the other night having been picked up from the train station after a long day at university. I was distracted, thoughts of whether the data analysis for my dissertation required a chi square test or not were still bouncing around my increasingly scrambled mind, the pressures of the final year are taking its toll. So when I glanced out the passenger window my attention was not fully on the potential  for wildlife sightings. Then my brother spoke "Did you see that? Defiantly an owl, the size, the way it flew I'm sure that was a tawny owl". No was the answer to his question I hadn't. Distracted, the owl had flown right across the road  into the woodland and out of sight. That was pretty galling. I've seen barn owls before and heard plenty of tawny owls in the woodlands near our home but have never seen one, concentration levels must be improved !

British birds part 2- Brilliant Buzzards.

What a makes a walk in the countryside so special for you? The crisp crunch of fallen autumn leaves underfoot while wrapped up against the bracing elements? or maybe it's the arrival of spring where the foxgloves and bluebells are starting to make an appearance flourishing after winter has lost its vice like grip. Personally no outing is complete without hearing the trademark mewing call of most abundant raptor in the United Kingdom, the Buzzard. Effortlessly soaring the skies above Britain, this stunning bird now listed as green status on the conservation list with between 57,000-79,000 pairs breeding in the United Kingdom, has made a remarkable recovery from the dark days of persecution. Like so many other birds of prey, the buzzard was also severely affected by the use of pesticides in the 1950's and 60's with populations only recovering once their use had been banned, and now the species has breeding populations in every county in the United Kingdom. This beautiful bird has been the victim of its own success however leading to the licensing of nests to be destroyed in 2013. Personally this was a decision that made my blood boil. The sight of a buzzard on perched on a lamppost, captured in all its glory by the sun’s rays, surveying its territory, or perhaps looking for it’s next meal will always be one worthy of many an admiring gaze for a bird that can populate so widely and show such adaptability and resolve in the face of such adversity over the decades deserves nothing less than the utmost admiration and respect.

 

Extinct species:   Five facts on the Woolly Mammoth

1) The tusks of the woolly mammoth were absolutely enormous, measuring up to fifteen feet in length on the largest males. It is thought the predominate reason for their size was to act as a sexual characteristic the larger and curvier the tusk the more appealing they were to females.

2) Their ears in contrast were small, meaning that the surface area of skin exposed to the elements was as minimal as possible.

3) The woolly mammoth was one of thirteen species of mammoth to belong to the genus Mammuthus primigenius.

4 ) A sparse population of woolly mammoths clung onto existence on Wrangel Island off the Siberian cost before finally disappearing around 1700 BC and with their demise meant the complete extinction of woolly mammoth.

5) Debate has sprung up surrounding the woolly mammoth since it has appeared it could be possible to clone them via the harvesting of DNA and then incubating the fetus in a living pachyderm.

Information sourced from the work off Bob Strauss.

Did anyone see this ? pretty amazing that is for sure.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/10672439/Snake-eats-crocodile-in-battle-at-Australian-lake.html

That's all from me for now thanks for reading

George :)

Twitter @ReallyWildWykes

Email
grwykes@gmail.com
 





Photo credit http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=jFqBocKWrNdiuM&tbnid=DKFexEvrDCEUrM:&ved=0CAQQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fanthonyswildlifephotos.blogspot.com%2F&ei=3aMYU-PTF-Lo7Aa0wYGwCQ&bvm=bv.62577051,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGejxvib1qCSBX3ynxOC9KIEiaj2Q&ust=1394209978493623

The floodplain has flooded.

Hello and welcome to my latest blog. As regular readers will be aware I am currently studying a BSc in Applied Zoology, and as the pressure of coursework has built up so my routine for writing these blogs has become more sporadic but still keeping to publishing on a monthly basis. With time once more limited I thought I'd give you an outline of my main dissertation which hopefully will of be of interest to you hope you enjoy the blog.

Reserve Guardian 

I love getting stuck into hard work for the benefit of nature and people and so while recently looking for voluntary opportunities in my local area, I came across the vacant position of reserve guardian on the nearby nature reserve which had been posted  by the RSPB. This was an opportunity I jumped at, and I was soon on the phone to their office arranging a meeting to discuss the role. I felt very welcome immediately and after signing the forms I was officially on board as a volunteer. Aside from helping with general upkeep of the marsh for example collecting rubbish, cutting back branches to close to the public footpath etc I'm also responsible for reporting any more serious issues which need to be resolved for example the damaging of information signs, or hazards to public safety which have recently appeared.  Earlier in the week I made my way onto the marsh only to have progress thwarted early on by the unsurprising flooding which has taken place due to the appalling weather Britain has experienced over the last month or so. I still however managed to collect some rubbish blown over by the storm so some good was still achieved,  and I look forward to being able to carry out my role properly in the future. I will keep you posted on this and my wildlife sightings during the course of my blogs. 

So how important is cover to birds?

My final year dissertation investigates the importance of cover for urban/suburban birds. It has been stated cover is beneficial to birds with reduced energy costs, and protection from the elements and predation. It has also been stated however that cover provides disadvantages for birds, with reduced viability aiding predation  attempts rather than deterring them. 

I have been attempting to observe the point where the fear of being predated upon is outweighed by the need to feed. To do this I have been manipulating the food available for birds in the study areas. Two feeders have been positioned away from cover and remained constantly full while two feeders have been positioned in cover however these have had the level of food present in them depleted. This has taken place over the course of four day cycles with  a quarter of the food in the feeder removed each day until just 25% remains at which point the feeders are then fully replenished. Initially this cycle was conducted eight times with surveys taking place in the morning for a period of one hour broken down into two half an hour spells, focusing on feeders in and out of cover respectively.  To account for factors influencing the study outside of the manipulated ones, I have repeated the experiment on a smaller scale in a separate study garden. Despite the variety of species not being as high as I had hoped and expected as a result of many hours of observation, interesting behavior is still being witnessed and I  will be writing my findings on this blog at a later date. 

I took this photo I while ago before this feeding station was moved to join the others in the back garden however Great Tits have still been a regular sight on the feeders. 

Latest news and curiosities 

Poor I.D skills

Surely this can't be good, British children finding it difficult to identify marine life such as penguins and turtles is worrying as these are the future generations trusted with protecting  wildlife and the  resources they depend on.  As the article says animal focused attractions such as the The National Sea Life Centre  are crucially important. 

 http://www.wildlifeextra.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=1&listitemid=18503

Blubber -Mouth Shark 
Who had heard of a Blubber - Mouth Shark ? I hadn't until reading a recent issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine. Discovered of Hawai in 1976, the blubber-mouth shark is one of three plankton feeding sharks following its preys daily migration between surface layers and deep water.

British Butterflies 
Good news for our British Butterflies as species such as the brimstone, common blue, small copper, small skipper, large skipper and small tortoiseshell all made a recovery in 2013 having suffered one of the worst declines on record in 2012. 
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/butterfly-survey.html

That's all for this time hope you enjoyed the blog I will be back to the British birds and extinct species section next time, now I have a dissertation to do !
Thanks for reading George.

Sharks in crisis -Polititcians don't care.

Hello and welcome to my latest wildlife blog.  As regular readers will know this is usually a  monthly publication,  however recent news coming to light has compelled me to publish an earlier edition focusing on two huge issues. Firstly the legalisation of the shark cull in Western Australia has left myself and countless others gobsmacked and lost for words. Secondly the horrific images which have been surfing the internet recently of the dolphin slaughter in Denmark are obviously appalling to see but need to be shared to show  this disgusting behaviour which has now it seems  become a  Danish tradition.  I hope these news stories stir up emotions of anger and sadness in  you as it did myself I have no doubt that they will.

Legalisation of the shark cull in Western Australia.

Before I express my views on this it is important for me to state that it is not my intention to underplay the devastating consequences of a shark attack. Although rare these are tragic events and the suffering by the victim and people close to them are hard for any of us to even comprehend.

      A Summary of the clearing of the shark cull.

• Environmental minister Greg Hunt has cleared the cull, exempting them from federal legislation the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act which is designed to protect threatened species.
• National interest was the reason given for the cull to be cleared after an appeal from the Western Australian government.
• The cull will be taken place through the use of 72 baited hooks 1 kilometre from the shoreline of eight beaches situated in the Perth and south-west area.
• Boats will patrol these areas any sharks measuring over three meters long will be shot.
• Hunt wrote a letter to Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett, and stated that Australians understood the risk of open sea activities and government cannot take away the risk at a general level, however he went onto state that seven shark attacks had taken place in the last three years which was  " well above the historic norm". He then stated that the exemption of the conservation act was appropriate.
• The exemption states that WA’s $8.5bn tourism industry could be hit by continual shark attacks and that the cull should be allowed subject to conditions aimed at reducing harm to seabirds and whales.
• It has been stated in the exemption the tourism industry in the WA area as a result of continued shark attacks could be damaged as a result the cull would also reduce damage to seabirds and whales.
• The exemption would last until the 30th of April.

Full story can be found here http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/21/shark-cull-greg-hunt-exempts-wa

          My view

     In my opinion people who enter the sea where potentially dangerous animals are present do so at their own risk. I say the same about people who work in the African bush and other truly wild situations. On my two conservation trips to South Africa I willingly took the risk of potential harm and my family know if anything had happened to me retribution on the animal would be the last thing I would want. So I feel huge amounts of anger and sorrow when I read sharks are to be culled to protect people entering their domain. How are they to know what they can and cannot prey upon, in fact many sharks attacks are believed to be the case of mistaken identity. The point I am passionate about is that we are purely intruders into the marine world every time we venture into the sea, alien to its inhabitants we manipulate their lives as we see fit. Animals suffer because we want to control everything, we want the natural world to cower to our "power" when really desperate acts such as this cull only represent our ignorance. Sharks have been around for millions of years, they survived what the dinosaurs could not. Their power and grace have the ability to leave people awestruck and yet as a species we continue to deplete their resources, destroy their world and kill mindlessly  whenever we see fit. Sharks may well have outlived the dinosaurs. Whether they will outlive humans is a very different matter.

You are more likely to suffer theses fates than fall victim to shark attack.

Your chances of being a shark attack victim are 1 in 3,700,000 ( National Geographic).

For every human fatality, two million sharks are killed . (National Geographic).

In the USA and Canada roughly 40 people are killed by pigs each year. This equates to six times more than worldwide shark attack fatalities.

Globally more people are victims of falling coconuts than sharks.

In the United States of America the likelihood of being struck by lightening is twenty times higher than being attacked by a shark.

(Shark Foundation)

Calderon dolphin slaughter.

The second issue I am highlighting is something so barbaric it is beyond description. I have to warn you the images are distressing and highlight one of the most appalling "traditions" I and countless others have ever seen evidence of.  Hard as it may be, this sequence of pictures must be shared to shame the people of power into action, so you please help spread the word.

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5NDM0NTA2Mg%3D%3D&mid=10100142&idx=7&sn=2338d5d305296bc264ba02c8620c3c69&scene=4#rd

I hope you enjoyed the blog, sorry it was one of the more bleak ones published but I felt these issues needed to be highlighted.

Thank you for reading,

George.

A new year, new experiences and new features.

Hello everyone and welcome to my first wildlife blog of 2014. I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and have not been affected by the extreme weather conditions that we have all been experiencing in varying degrees of severity. The first new feature in this blog British Birds came about as a result of a sighting of a Green Woodpecker while out enjoying a walk in the countryside which was particularly special as it was only my second encounter with the species. This has inspired a regular section celebrating our incredible diversity of bird life in the British Isles. The second new addition to the blog has come about as a result of the rather brilliant Natural History Museum Alive program by Sir David Attenborough if you have not had the opportunity to watch it yet I highly recommend you do. Watching it I was reminded of how these incredible now extinct animals had gripped me as a young child in sheer awe of the size of their skeletons while on regular trips to museums. Due to this this blog will run a feature on these incredible animals long gone but forever admired. As always I hope you enjoy the blog.

A rare diamond 

Recently our household acted as a temporary rescue centre to an escaped  Diamond Dove native to Australia this bird had escaped from its aviary  and very nearly paid the ultimate price as it suffered a glancing blow from the Sparrowhawk which frequently considers our garden its hunting ground. Fortunately however apart from shock the little bird suffered no obvious physical injury and after spending the afternoon recovering in the living room, through the power of the internet was later reunited with a very relieved owned the same night.

A very lucky bird !

British Birds : Green Woodpecker

Five facts on the Green Woodpecker 

1) Green Woodpeckers predominantly on the ground where short grass offers ideal feeding opportunities. While they can be found in Wales, Scotland and England they can't be found in Ireland.

2) The diet of this species of woodpecker is almost exclusively made up of ants, using its powerful beak to destroy ant colonies but will take a variety of other invertebrates.

3) Eggs are usually 31 by 23 mm in size and  clutches will typically be made up of 4-6 eggs. The incubation period lasts 19-20 days with fledgling taking place between 21 and 24 days.

4) The Green woodpecker is the largest of the three woodpecker species in Britain Lesser and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers being the other two.

5) The Green Woodpecker's conservation status is listed as amber with 52, 000 breeding pairs in the UK.

Facts courtesy of the RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology.

.http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/homesforwildlife/f/905/p/28527/205689.aspxgvvv


Extinct Section part 1: Tyrannosaurus Rex

In my view this section could only start one way, featuring a dinosaur which has captured the imagination and starred in films for many decades most famously of all the Jurassic Park trilogy of course it is one of most infamous meat eaters to ever walk the planet - Tyrannosaurus Rex, Tyrant Lizard . Debate is strong about how much of this enormous dinosaurs diet was through predation  and how much was made up through scavenging behaviour, however what has been agreed on both sides of the debate is that T-Rex was incredibly opportunistic taking both live prey and scavenging.

T- Rex lived in North America during  the late Cretaceous period, standing at roughly 15-20 feet tall, 40 feet in length, weighing up to 6.8 metric tonnes and an enormous five foot long skull it would surely of made a terrifying sight. Conical teeth were  using for gripping and tearing food  and it has been estimated that 500 pounds of meat could be eaten in a single bite and fossil evidence of Triceratops and Edmontosaurus suggests bones were crushed while feeding and bone has also been found in its dung. Investigation into the olfactory lobes suggest that an incredible sense of smell was also part of the Rex's armoury, this would of helped detection towards both live and dead food this fact has been used by sides claiming Tyrannosaurus was primarily a scavenger although a final answer to this debate is likely to be a long time coming.  It is strongly suspected that females were larger than males by a scale of several thousand pounds theories as to why this may be include the fact females had to lay clutches of eggs or simply that females were more successful predators.

Whichever way this fearsome animal came across its food, what is for certain is that it is one of the most infamous creatures to ever walk the planet. Capturing the imagination of generations of people, there is no reason to think this most fearsome will not continue to inspire books, films and debate for many years to come.

 

 

 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=t+rex&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=HF3QUsKkLYWg0wX-iYCADw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1093&bih=521#q=t+rex+skeleton&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=SIdU5RsIu9q9sM%3A%3B6RxTj6fRp8i7iM%3BSIdU5RsIu9q9sM%3A&imgrc=SIdU5RsIu9q9sM%253A%3Bl4rSMfwg8xlLgM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fdadhoc.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2010%252F04%252Ftyrannosaurus-rex-skeleton-model_635.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fdadhoc.com%252F2010%252F04%252Fawesome-tyrannosaurus-rex-skeleton-model%252F%3B677%3B411

  Facts were sourced from 

http://animals.nationalgeographic.co.uk/animals/prehistoric/tyrannosaurus-rex/
http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurbasics/a/trexfacts.htm
Bbc nature

News in brief: Large carnivores  in dire trouble

Lions beautiful, majestic, powerful, awesome predators and possibly soon to become extinct as new reports suggest the west African Lion could soon become extinct. From 21 protected areas surveyed in 2005 recent studies  have found that they are only found in four of these areas. In these areas the population is less than 400 with fewer than 250 mature adults.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2014/01/08/lions-extinct-west-africa/

Of the 31 largest carnivore species on the planet, three quarters of them are in decline with 17 species have had former ranges more than halved. Southeast Asia, southern and East Africa, and the Amazon are some of the areas hardest hit with numerous carnivores declining.
http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2231590/restore_large_carnivores_to_save_struggling_ecosystems.html

Trails and Tails Travel

Looking for a truly wild and wonderful adventure? want to see some natures most amazing natural creations ? Trails and Tails Travel offers a wide range of once in a lifetime opportunity to visit some of the most amazing locations on the planet run by Nicole and Matthew, you can look at their website by following this link http://www.trailsandtailstravel.com/ you can also connect with them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/george.wykes?ref=tn_tnmn#!/TrailsAndTailsTravel?fref=ts.

Twitter

You can follow me on Twitter @ReallyWildWykes where I will be posting regular sources of wildlife news, images and of course my blog updates direct to my Twitter account.
That is all for me this time I hope you enjoyed the new features and thanks for reading,
George.

The use of animals in films and wildlife news.

Hello and welcome to my latest wildlife blog, I hope you have been well since the last issue. In this edition I talk about wrestling with my conscience when it comes to watching films where animals are advertised to being the "stars of the show".  Consider this the tiger has more individuals in captivity than in the wild so one nearly drowning in the filming of the Life of PI certainly struck a nerve. Also in this edition, the usual assortment of wildlife news, I hope as always you enjoy the blog.

The use of animals in films.

When I saw the film the Life of Pi advertised for cinematography admittedly I was intrigued, the image of a huge, beautiful Bengal tiger grabbed my attention as it doubtless did with countless others. When the film appeared on television it was recorded for viewing at a more convenient time. Since then however, I read an article by the newspaper the Independent which highlighted the mistreatment of animals in films and sparked my conscience which had always nagged at me when seeing animals used as stars in films into overdrive. Is it acceptable that a tiger should nearly drown in the name of entertainment ? It's far from an isolated case of gross mistreatment, during the making of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a total of twenty seven animals including sheep and goats perished as a result of dehydration, exhaustion and drowning. A horse died in the making of War Horse and a chipmunk was squashed in the filming of Failure to Launch to name some examples. In my opinion the gross mistreatment of animals in the production of films surely is as bad as the mistreatment of animals in circuses after all both are fuelled by the need to entertain to earn a profit. The thought of abuse of circus animals rightly repulses people worldwide the thought of animals being abused in films should have the same affect. There is only one thing worse than the cowardly act of animal cruelty and that is animal cruelty to earn an income, currently the recording of Life of Pi remains unwatched and for sure that  is how it will remain.

Negative representations of  animals can reflect direly on wild populations. Sharks have experienced huge declines in numbers all over the globe, thanks in no small part to the combination of the novel "Jaws" and subsequent films which followed it. Indeed author Peter Benchley felt so bad about the subsequent impact on sharks that he went onto become a shark conservationist and was quoted as saying " knowing what I know now, I could never write that book today" in reference to Jaws. He would go on to write Shark Trouble highlighting the unfair portrayal of sharks in the media. Sharks are far from the only victims, one does not need to look far to find films where crocodiles, snakes, wolves amongst others cause terror as a result of "savage rampages".





Wildlife News

A new species of wild cat has been discovered in Brazil. It had been assumed that there was only one species of Brazilian tigrina, Leopardus tigrinus but analyses of DNA evidence has revealed that tigrina's found in the north are an altogether different species than those found in the south which are now called Leopardus guttulus see the full article below.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Brazil-wild-cat-new-species.html

Asian elephants it has been discovered can differentiate between the growls of different species of big cats. On hearing the growl of a tiger a potential threat to a calf, a stealthy retreat is taken by the herd, while on hearing a leopard a lesser threat, they respond with aggressive trumpeting.
BBC Wildlife magazine December 2013.

Not news as such but some remarkable predator prey interaction see below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaUDVAlavPI

That is all for this occasion as usual I really hope you enjoyed the blog and thanks for reading,
George.

Wildlife concerns.

 Hello and welcome to my latest blog, sorry it has taken so long to update but university specifically the large amount of coursework has made time extremely limited, the joys of the final year ! I hope you have all been well in the meantime and have been enjoying the wildlife all around us. This issue may not be the most cheery one I've ever written but it underlies some key concerns where action must be taken before the damage done is irreversible. This issue also features an article written concerning the legalisation of hunting  a small number of Black Rhino every year. You can read my opinion on this below. As always I hope you enjoy my blog and feel free to give feedback.




The legalisation of Black Rhino trophy hunting in Namibia.
http://www.namibian.com.na/index_print.php?id=5539


First things first, having read the article along with some more reading Namibia clearly has a fantastic conservation record, however the legalisation of Black Rhino trophy hunting is something which does not rest easily with me. I really fail to believe that the people paying thousands of pounds to hunt these animals have any concern over the conservation of the species. If this were to be the case would it not instead be a better to put the money directly into Rhino conservation instead of putting a bullet into a Rhino? I also am not to keen on the argument that only older individuals of a species would be hunted I'm not sure we would like it if once we were surplus to requirements for continuing the existence of our own species, own lives were wiped out.

"Trophy hunting nearly worthless"
And the article see below reports that both wildlife viewing and photographic safaris offer more to conservation and economy in Africa than trophy hunting. I'm clearly bias against the "sport" but with images like the one in the aforementioned article (see below) it's not hard to see why, there is no respect for the animal and in my opinion no interest in conservation.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/trophy-hunting-sale.html#cr




Time to give our raptors the protection they deserve as English Hen Harrier decline  hits new low.

Historically raptors in Britain have been the victims of persecution to the point that by the end of the nineteenth century many species had nearly become extinct. The White Tailed Sea Eagle was one species which did disappearing from the British Isles in 1916. The use of pesticides such as DDT also had serious implications for predators such as the Peregrine Falcon in particular before the ban on them in the nineteen eighties contributed largely to an increase in many species. While many threats still exist such as rodenticides in the food chain,  traffic collisions and habitat loss many species are at least far more stable in Britain than previous decades. One main problem has never really gone away however and that is the illegal persecution of some raptors species over concerns by gamekeepers and farmers over game animals and livestock. Golden Eagles and Red Kites are to immediate examples of species which in some areas of Scotland and Wales continue to face serious persecution. Nothing compares however to the plight of the English Hen Harrier, with no chicks raised in 2013 and only two pairs even attempting to breed, a six year decline continues to get worse and worse. The ill feeling, mistrust and persecution  from hunters and game keepers of Red Grouse towards the Hen Harrier have largely  lead to this situation. In the past few years several ideas have been discussed as a compromise including supplementary feeding and a ceiling effect on populations where individuals are then trans located to other areas but these seem to have achieved little progress hence the desperate situation now facing Hen Harriers in England. I love the quote from Simon Barnes "If we want to celebrate their ferocity, we must also celebrate their fragility" in reference to the struggle for survival which faces a bird of prey. In Britain we have already seen what can be achieved when the right measures are put in place,  the successful reintroduction of the White Tailed Sea Eagle being a main example however in the case of the Hen Harrier in England,  a rabbit must be  pulled out the hat to protect the remaining population because the way things are going, unless dramatic measures are put in place right now, a miracle may be this formidable predators only hope of clinging on to its existence in England.


 



http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Hen_Harrier







  When will we learn if ever? The curse of human laziness and plastic waste.

Recently a sobering thought provoking article about the devastating effects plastic waste is having on Whale species with  individuals washed up with obscene amounts of plastic in their systems.  We as a species supposedly capable of high intelligence cannot or more likely will not accept and take responsibility for the damage we are doing to marine ecosystems. Turtles also the victims of plastic carrier bags in most cases mistaking them for Jellyfish have suffered global declines in populations follow the link below for an image from a turtles point of view.

From a Turtles point of view.
 http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?sa=X&biw=1280&bih=841&tbm=isch&tbnid=k-kUuXcOHmLvPM:&imgrefurl=http://theyellowbrickroadfreeblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/vortex-photogenic-plastic/&docid=wgGK4TDn-i6DKM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6btnjKbDom3YubI9-zzGOHLWZizox_xvi351SxYLvy9a2yKmdRhPcIIbntKfDuec7Se0yMAWobYbd85SVg7j5TRSOmFvjkiECOd2J1IGX8h9pW2MjtDKT7ezMJ1ec_dMGoFL_IPMIIA/s640/Turtle%252Bcant%252Bdifferentiate%252BJellyfish%252Band%252Bplastic%252Bbag.%252Bstop%252Bthrowing%252Bplastic%252Bto%252Bthe%252Bsea.jpg&w=640&h=374&ei=lQZ9UviSC8eQhQfsp4DgCg&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:10,s:0,i:114&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=172&tbnw=294&start=0&ndsp=23&tx=68&ty=83
Link to Whale stranding story.
 http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?sa=X&biw=1280&bih=841&tbm=isch&tbnid=k-kUuXcOHmLvPM:&imgrefurl=http://theyellowbrickroadfreeblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/vortex-photogenic-plastic/&docid=wgGK4TDn-

 And some good news to finish

After hearing so much negative news recently how nice to hear that huge steps have been taken to protect the fragile remaining population of wild Snow Leopards. Ministers from the governments of :
Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan  all signed a declaration which meant they agreed to not only intensify their conservation efforts but also take strong action against the poaching and illegal trade of Snow Leopards. This decision took place during  the Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum, in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.

 http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/snow-leopard-hope.html

Well that is just about it for now, I hope you enjoyed the issue as always, thanks for reading all the best, George.

Under African skies

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog, it's been quite some time since my last post and this has in part been because of my return to South Africa which you will read more about shortly. I hope you all had a great summer and made the most of the sunshine because as September draws to a close it won't be long before temperatures drop and plenty of warm layers will be called for as the cold embrace of winter takes its grip.  As always I hope you enjoy the blog.

                                                                                                                                                                                    
Back to Africa

In 2011 having  just landed back in England after spending a month living and working in the South Africa wilderness I knew I had to return, craving the sights, sounds and smells of a truly incredible country. A little over two years later my flight touched down at Durban to signal the arrival of the two of the most incredible weeks of my life. Having signed up for a programme run by Global Vision International focusing on tracking wild dogs, cheetah and elephant through the use of telemetry on Zimanga Private game reserve I knew there was a good chance of seeing some incredible things, nothing could of prepared me for the daily mind blowing wildlife encounters that myself and my fellow volunteers were about to experience.  Before I write about a few of my incredibly hard to pick highlights, a thank you should be said to all the staff and fellow volunteers at Zimanga base who made the experience even more special through being welcoming and very friendly made fitting into camp life very easy. The information, skills learnt and memories and friendships made will stay with me forever. So after careful thought I have tried my best to come up with a few of my highlights from the trip.

1) I'll hold your paw.

This was the one highlight that proved to be  a straight forward decision, with two of the African Wild Dog pups sedated to have collars fitted to aid with data collection and telemetry tracking, the opportunity to get up closer than I ever imagined possible to one of the most endangered carnivores on the planet was a truly once in a lifetime opportunity. One by one we were able to have our pictures taken with the sedated pups and had the opportunity to touch the fur, and even the paws of the beautiful creature. I made the most of every second of my opportunity!




2)  Night drive

Driving through Zimanga at night, never failed to amaze, Serval, Porcupine, Bush Baby and Mozambique Spitting Cobra were some real wonderful moments, however the drive to camp for the first time having only been in South Africa less than 48 hours, provided a glimpse of something very special. Driving along and suddenly a huge cat shape bounded in front of the vehicle, and into the grass on the roadside where it stayed for a minute or so allowing us a rare glimpse into its mysterious life. This animal was of course the beautiful, powerful, elusive Leopard. I may only have been able to see the outline of its muscular body in the darkness but having never seen a Leopard before this really was hitting the jackpot. The night proved even more memorable as later we caught up with the wild dog pack, looking relaxed again close to the road what a welcome !

3)  Being made to feel tiny

 Surely there are few animals on the planet that posses such awesome power as the African Elephant added to that their serious intelligence means when just a few metres separate yourself and a huge male in must that has the potential to be an intimidating and dangerous experience. Fortunately this particular Elephant has such a gentle and inquisitive personality despite its current condition that no harm is meant, as he wanders around our vehicle his huge size is clear to see in all its glory. The magnificent head the width of the windscreen so close to us its beauty so evident the experience one that was just awesome and one never to be forgotten.




Morning Cutthroat

Zimanga is home to a huge Spotted Hyena named Cutthroat, one of a very small population to live on the reserve, rarely seen I was far from optimistic about my chances of a sighting in a short period of time. As we were reminded time and time again however Zimanga is a very special place, no more so than on one memorable morning. Having located the Wild Dog pack on the perimeter of the reserve, we followed them as they went about their morning antics, primarily a mixture of play fighting and trying to track down potential prey. While most of us were watching the dogs, a shape behind the vehicle had caught the attention of our guide. The unmistakable form of the  Spotted Hyena known as Cutthroat was keeping its distance from the pack and until this point had gone unnoticed, not for long however, no sooner had we spotted the hyena so to did the dogs, chasing Cutthroat into dense thicket and out of sight, a  short but privileged encounter.




A little optimistic

With no Lion on Zimanga, and Leopard targeting medium size antelope predominantly, the Buffalo would probably be feeling fairly untouchable. The wild dog pack had other ideas however as for over an hour they harassed the herd on occasion getting them running in mild panic, and darting in to try and isolate a youngster. They came close at one particular moment nipping the dis orientated juvenile before the adults came back to restore security. Eventually the pack lost interest whether they ever had a real chance of snaring a meal is unlikely however to see such prolonged predatory behaviour was truly fascinating.



Beauty in the air

The African Fish Eagle is a bird I had always wanted to see and having seen it in the flesh its true power and wonderful colouration were evident. And of course its unmistakable, charismatic call is a sound quite magnificent another highlight on an unforgettable trip.




And a few more pictures, representing incredible experiences on a very special reserve.

African Rock Python.


Kalahari one of the male Cheetah on the reserve truly stunning.

Pretty awesome.



Only Africa can produce sunsets like this.

Badger update

Our garden still continues to offer a reliable food source for not one but two badgers who regular feed on our peanut butter bread morsels. I've said it before and I will say it again it is a true privilege to have these beautiful nocturnal animals visit the garden and long may it continue for watching them is an experience which should never be taken for granted.

World Rhino Day

It was recently World Rhino Day, celebrating these magnificent animals but also highlighting the sickening plight they face thanks to the myth of the healing properties their magnificent horn possess. People must wake up to this before it really is to late, to lose any species to extinction is sickening to loose Rhinos because of human greed and ignorance would be inexcusable.

Trails and Tails Travel
Looking for a truly wild and wonderful adventure? want to see some natures most amazing natural creations ? Trails and Tails Travel offers a wide range of once in a lifetime opportunity to visit some of the most amazing locations on the planet run by Nicole and Matthew, you can loo at their website by following this link http://www.trailsandtailstravel.com/ you can also connect with them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/george.wykes?ref=tn_tnmn#!/TrailsAndTailsTravel?fref=ts.

Twitter

You can follow me on Twitter @ReallyWildWykes where I will be posting regular sources of wildlife news, images and of course my blog updates direct to my Twitter account.

That is all for this issue thank you for reading and have a great weekend !
George