March 2015

Volume 33 Number 3 Issue 397

CHRIS PACKHAM

CARING FOR WILDLIFE IS NOT

ENOUGH. ITS TIME FOR ACTION!

REVEALED

RELIGION

WAYS
TO SAVE
BRITAINS
WILDLIFE

NATURES
UNLIKELY
SAVIOUR?

WATER VOLE
REVIVAL
How Ratty came
back from the brink

LATEST

SCIENCE AND
CONSERVATION
NEWS

INSIDE!

EXCLUSIVE

LAND
OF THE
LEOPARDS
How the Amur leopard found
sanctuary in Russias wilderness

EXTRA!

ETHICAL
TRAVEL
SPECIAL

WELCOME

DID YOU
KNOW?

THE ARRIVAL OF UP TO 15,000

DEMOISELLE CRANES IS ONE
OF NORTHERN INDIAS GREAT
WILDLIFE SPECTACLES.
Find out more on p64

Axel Gomille

Welcome
When Bill Oddie discussed
religions role in conservation
in our December issue, the
letters soon started flooding
in. He suggested Christianity
didnt have the best record on
attitudes to wildlife, and that a
little papal intervention could
do a great deal to end the hunting of migratory
birds in Malta and Cyprus each spring. However,
readers including the Rev. Dr Alison Morgan
took Bill to task, suggesting it is often the absence of
religion that contributes to destructive attitudes to
nature. This month we report how Jainist culture
both protects and venerates the demoiselle cranes
that flock to Rajasthan each year, and discuss four
other spiritually inspired projects (p64). But no
matter your beliefs, there is no doubt that it is
time for a radical change in our attitudes to the
natural world. Tony Juniper suggests we might
start by harnessing one of the most modern and
evangelical of world faiths: market economics
(p30). Wed love to hear your thoughts.
Matt Swaine Editor
[email protected]
March 2015

WHAT
WEVE
LEARNED

this issue

90ha
The space needed
for a viable
urban hedgehog
population See p15

Clouds
Owe their
existence
to bacteria
and marine
algae See p83

2,226
The number of
tigers in India,
according to a new
census See p39

IN BBC WILDLIFE THIS MONTH

TONY JUNIPER CONTRIBUTOR
Tony is a writer and campaigner who
outlines a new approach to conservation.
To protect our economy we must sustain
our ecology, he says. See p30
MIKE UNWIN CONTRIBUTOR
While visiting Man National Park, Peru,
natural-history writer Mike ventured into the
canopy: I climbed a 50m kapok tree on a
fixed metal staircase. Never again! See p58
AXEL GOMILLE PHOTOGRAPHER
Axel is a photographer and film-maker with a
passion for Indian wildlife: I associate cranes
with wetlands, so seeing demoiselles in the
Thar Desert was very intriguing. See p64
AMY-JANE BEER CONTRIBUTOR
When I was growing up, the water vole
always seemed foreshadowed by doom, says
natural-history writer Amy. Its a joy to write
positive news of dear old Ratty. See p70

GET YOUR
DIGITAL COPY
Buy a digital edition of BBC Wildlife
Magazine for iOS, Android, Kindle
Fire, PC or Mac. Visit iTunes, the
Google Play store, Amazon or
www.zinio.com to find out more.
ON THE COVER: Amur leopard by Emmanuel Rondeau

BBC Wildlife

SPECIAL
OFFER

CONTENTS March 2015

SAVE
WHEN YOU
SUBSCRIBE
SEE P28

48

Exclusive: how conservationists

are trying to save Russias
Amur leopards, the most
endangered big cats on Earth

Wild
06 Here be dragons

20 Latest scientific research

Fishing spirit bears,

pregnant sea dragons and
threat to Floridas wetland

12

Seven wild spectacles

Boxing hares, goshawks
and returning migrants

14 Displaying birds
Plus Expert guide to
waking hedgehogs

16 Wild challenge
Twelve different spring
wildflowers to look for
FREE Download online!

18

Gorillas seen using tools to

feed for the first time, the
insect with the most varied
sex life, and the fish that
uses scent as camouflage

Discover pond life

Explore your garden pond,
from spawning frogs to
diving beetles. Plus how
you can help pond surveys

14

Why dunnocks signal

with their wings

Features

Agenda

30 7 ways to save

39 Tigers: new census

Britains wildlife
Tony Junipers ambitious
agenda to restore nature

48 Land of the leopards

Amazing photos of Amur
leopards in Russian Far
East

58 Rainforest discoveries
Camera-traps are rewriting
the rules on treetop wildlife

64 Religion: natures
unlikely saviour?
Indias Jainists are helping
the cranes they venerate

70 Water vole revival

How Ratty at last returned
to every English county

85 Responsible Travel
Our expert guide to

BBC Wildlife

Why good population news

could be so much better

40 Tree poaching crisis

Thailands battle to stop
illegal trade in hardwoods
Plus Whale-extract beer

41 Space-aid rhinos
How space-industry tech
could help protect rhinos

41 Mark Carwardine
Should you kill one owl
to save another, rarer one?

42 What Europe does for us

We investigate what the EU
achieves for conservation

44 Your Feedback
Getting young people into
nature, fox hunting, and the
species readers would save
March 2015

READ OUR
COLUMNISTS

12

Sand martins are

back in the UK!

CHRIS
PACKHAM
Killing a wagtail sends
out a terrible message
about how we value
life or not.p25

58

BILL
ODDIE
Every birder knows
a hotspot. It could be
a gate, an old tractor
or a bramble patch.p27

How gadgets are

unlocking the secrets
of howler monkeys and
other rainforest species

85

70

The conservation army

driving the recovery of
Britains water voles

Find out how to have

a great holiday that
helps wildlife too

Reviews

Regulars

79 Do insects have blood?

103 WhaleFest

25 Chris Packham

Plus Does anything live

in clouds, do spiders have
teeth as well as fangs, do
all primates have colour
vision, and how bird
songs and calls differ

84 Make a footprint trap

Plus Do optical
illusions work on
other animals?

Join us at Britains top

marine-conservation event

104 Book reviews

Enigmatic conservation
hero John Muir,
dragonflies and new nature
writing

106 TV and Radio

New series about Sri Lanka,
Alaska and hidden Britain

109 Local wildlife events

79

Do butterflies
such as this
pearl-bordered
fritillary have
something
like blood?

March 2015

Caring is no longer
enough: lets take action!

27

JOIN THE DEBATE

www.discoverwildlife.com/forum

JOIN US ON
SOCIAL MEDIA...
facebook.com/wildlifemagazine
twitter.com/WildlifeMag

Bill Oddie
You can never quite know
where birds will turn up

28 Subscription offer
Save an amazing 35%

101 Reader Holiday

A Highlands wildlife
adventure to remember

119 Crossword
Win a nestbox camera

120 Your Photos

Share your best photos at
www.discoverwildlife.com

122 Tales From the Bush

Rescuing baby seahorses
in the English Channel

OR GET IN TOUCH
EDITORIAL
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BBC Wildlife

Leopard: Emmanuel Rondeau; monkey: Sean Crane/Minden/FLPA; sand martin: Mark Hamblin;
moth trap: wilddaysconservation.org; water vole: Nick Upton; butterfly: David Kjaer/naturepl.com; illustration: Mike Langman

Discover

MARK
CARWARDINE
If spotted owls vanish,
there will be a weaker
argument for protecting
their forests.p41

WILD MARCH
WHAT TO SEE O NATURALIST SKILLS O DISCOVERIES

4 SPIRIT BEAR

Spirit of the forest

Some spirit, or Kermode, bears a subspecies of American black bear
mainly found in the dense Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia
famously have ghostly fur, caused by a recessive gene. Photographer
Daisy Gilardini took this picture of an adult female last autumn during
the annual run of pink salmon, when large numbers of bears gather
at riverbanks to fish. The bear was about 10 years old, with two cubs
to feed, says Daisy. The action happened so fast that I only noticed
the eggs flying out of the salmons swollen, pregnant body when
reviewing my images on my computer at the end of the day. But this
valuable ecosystem may be at risk. The oil company Enbridge plans to
build a pipeline to bring tar-sand oil from Alberta to the coast, where
supertankers will take it to be refined in Asia. Aside from the scars
left on the forest, a spill would only be a matter of time, says Daisy.
Photograph by Daisy Gilardini

4 LEAFY SEA DRAGON

Pregnant males
A narrow 14,000km stretch of Australias southern coastline, from
Melbourne to Perth, represents the entire global range of the leafy
sea dragon. It slurps up tiny crustaceans with its tubular snout, its
ornate camouflage helping it merge with surrounding coral reefs or
eelgrass beds. As in closely related seahorses, the brood develops
inside the pregnant male. The female deposits up to 250 bright
pink eggs into the spongy brood patch on the underside of his
tail, and these take up to nine weeks to hatch. Unlike seahorses,
however, leafy sea dragons cannot use their tail to grip and,
without a caudal (tail) fin, they are relatively weak swimmers that
float like seaweed in the water but struggle to travel great distances.
This, coupled with the fact that the eggs dont freely disperse,
makes leafy sea dragons particularly vulnerable to habitat loss,
pollution incidents and accidental bycatch by fishing fleets.
Photograph by Michael Patrick ONeill

WILD MARCH

WILD MARCH

4 DOUBLECRESTED CORMORANT

Troubled waters
At first glance, the headwaters of Floridas paradisal Rainbow River
appear pristine. Some of the planets clearest fresh water gushes
from underground springs, flowing lazily downstream over an
unbroken carpet of aquatic vegetation that shelters the occasional
alligator. Waterbirds such as this double-crested cormorant abound.
But water is a fast-disappearing resource here the Rainbow Rivers
tranquillity belies problems bubbling just below the surface. Over
the past 50 years the daily flow from its springs has shrunk by a
quarter, due largely to excessive extraction to quench the thirst of
agriculture, industry and coastal urbanisation. Meanwhile Floridas
fragile underground aquifer is also threatened by pollution
fertiliser and human and animal waste seep into it, causing nitrate
levels to skyrocket. They are now 100 times what they should be.
It remains to be seen if the Sunshine State will find a better balance
between economic growth and preserving its wildlife riches.
Photograph by Michael Patrick ONeill

2 GOSHAWK

SEP

O CT

N OV

D EC

T
This enigmatic bird is one of our most soughtafter and hard-to-see raptors. Though widespread,
it has a patchy distribution in the UK and usually
prefers large tracts of undisturbed forest. But March
is one of the best months to spot the normally
secretive species, as pairs perform spectacular
sky dances above the trees. Try watching these
aerial displays from a viewpoint that offers a wide,
uninterrupted vista clear, still days are best.
Sparrowhawks and buzzards will also be displaying,
so dont assume that every raptor is a goshawk!
BEST SPOT New Fancy View Forest of Dean

1 WHEATEAR

JUN

JUL

AU G

S
This member of the chat family (a female is shown)
is one of our earliest returning African migrants, making
landfall along southern coasts in March before moving on to
its upland and moorland breeding grounds. Wheatears run
or hop along the ground in grassy areas but prefer elevated
perches. Look for the black T on the birds tail and the
bright white rump its name is a corruption of white arse.
BEST SPOT Rye Harbour Nature Reserve East Sussex

4
7

6
2

+ BE A LOCAL EXPERT
Share your best tips for
watching wildlife in your
local area on our forum at
www.discoverwildlife.com

1. Damian Waters; 2. Sam Hobson; 3. Simon Litten;

4. Andy Sands/naturepl.com; 5. Laurie Campbell; 6. Barney Wilczak; 7. David Chapman

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

M AY

SEVEN
WILDLIFE
SPECTACLES
TO SEE THIS MONTH

3 BROWN HARE

W
In early spring the UKs fastest land mammals become mad March
hares, chasing, leaping and boxing as the females fend off males (their
antics can be seen at other times, but March is peak season). Scan open
habitats such as fields, heaths and saltmarsh at dawn and dusk, before
the grass grows too long. Brown hares are lankier than rabbits, with
longer, black-tipped ears. They dont burrow either but spend the day in
shallow depressions in the ground, relying on speed to escape danger.
BEST SPOT Forest of Bowland Lancashire

WILD MARCH
WOOD
5 ANEMONE

T
Wood anemones are some of
the first wildflowers to appear
in spring, opening before the
woodland canopy becomes too
dense and shades them out. The
seeds are mostly infertile; instead
the plants spread slowly by root
growth. Swaths of anemones
are good indicators of ancient
woodland, though they grace
parks, hedgerows and gardens too.
The plant is also known as smell
fox for its leaves musky odour.
BEST SPOT RSPB Stour Estuary Essex

4 COMMON TOAD

S
The first mild, damp nights of spring mark the
beginning of a mass amphibian migration as common
toads emerge from hibernation and travel to their
spawning ponds. Breeding sites are used year after
year, but the journey can be hazardous and many
die crossing roads. Those that make it mate, and the
females lay long, double-stranded strings of eggs,
which hatch after about two weeks. Find out how you
can help improve the toads odds of survival on p109.
BEST SPOT Tophill Low Nature Reserve East Yorkshire

7 SAND MARTIN

6 WILD DAFFODIL

S
The cheery yellow of daffodils is one of the most
welcome signs of spring, though virtually all of those
carpeting gardens, parks and roadsides are planted
or escaped varieties. The true wild daffodil was once a
common wildflower, but is now largely confined to woods,
orchards and meadows in parts of western Britain. Wild
blooms are smaller than cultivated types, with pale petals
and a darker yellow trumpet. The Golden Triangle in northwest Gloucestershire is an area famous for its wild displays.
BEST SPOT Betty Daws Wood Gloucestershire

March 2015

X
Britains smallest swallow
and martin species is also the
first to arrive in spring from its
wintering grounds in Africa,
usually appearing from around
mid-March. You might think that
there were no flying insects so
early in the year, but over water
there are already enough gnats
and flies to sustain these aerial
feeders. Most lowland water
bodies, from lakes and reservoirs
to rivers and canals, will attract
newly arrived sand martins. This
sociable species nests in colonies,
with up to several hundred pairs
digging long nesting burrows
into steep banks or cliffs.
BEST SPOT Rutland Water Nature

Reserve Rutland

m TWEET OF THE DAY

http://bbc.in/1ffQ4cO

BBC Wildlife

13

Ben Hoares

INSTANT naturalist

Essential fieldcraft, skills and knowledge you need to discover the natural world.

Mate feeding
When a female robin finishes
building a nest, her mate starts
feeding her to reinforce the pair
bond and help her to form eggs.
He offers food up to a few
dozen times a day throughout
the incubation period.

Song flights
Male greenfinches have a bat- or
butterfly-like display. They slowflap a treetop circuit, pitching
from side to side while singing.

UNDERSTAND
BREEDING DISPLAYS

S
Illustration by Mike Langman

eabirds are renowned for their

elaborate courtship, but you dont
need to go all the way to a clifftop
colony to see birds perform fascinating
breeding displays. Many common
garden species also have territorial and
mate-forming rituals that are easy to
observe in late winter and early spring.
Some displays are accompanied by
song for example, a male greenfinch
twittering wheezily on a high perch
will often launch, still singing, into a
looping butterfly flight to impress
a watching female. A male blue tit will

14

BBC Wildlife

deliver a brief trembling trill, before

taking off and parachuting towards
his mates chosen nest site.
Other airborne displays include the
theatrical up-then-down flights of male
woodpigeons and collared doves, which
climax with the birds descending on
fanned wings. Courtship feeding is
quite widespread, though youre most
likely to see it in robins.
But male dunnocks without doubt
have some of the strangest displays.
Rival males face off and use wing
semaphore to settle territorial disputes.

Nest glides
Male blue tits often perform an
exaggerated, gradually descending
glide on outstretched wings in the
vicinity of their nestbox or nesthole.

Wing waving
Male dunnocks competing
for territories lift up and hold
their wings, either one at
a time or both together.

March 2015

WILD MARCH

TO P T I PS

Theres a simple way to

sex hoverflies and other
true flies in the order
Diptera their eyes.
Females have wellspaced eyes; in males
theyre larger and nearly
touch in the middle.

Watch long-ta
iled tits
nestbuilding. U
nlike
most small bir
ds, both
sexes help; tho
rny shrubs
are favourite n
est sites.

GET INVOLVED
WORM WATCHING

60 S ECO N D EX PE RT

Waking
hedgehogs
HENRY JOHNSON

As the soil warms up in spring, earthworms

become more obvious again. Emma Sherlock
of the Natural History Museum is urging us to
follow the lead of Charles Darwin, who used to
go out after dark to observe nightcrawlers, one
of our 27 species. Much earthworm behaviour,
including the precise function of middens (piles
of debris over burrows), is poorly understood.
X Find out more at www.earthwormsoc.org.uk

When do hedgehogs wake up?

GARDEN WATCH
Four highlights of early spring to look for this March.

Mostly in March and April, with males active

first. So far climate change doesnt seem to
have changed emergence dates. But Scottish
hedgehogs used to stir later than those in the
south and these patterns appear less distinct.

Are warmer winters bad news?

Not necessarily. But variable winter weather
is an issue for hedgehogs, since they use fat
reserves going into and out of hibernation
and theres very little natural food to top up
reserves. Severe cold isnt a problem the
species lives as far north as the Arctic Circle.

What about flooding?

OCommas emerge from hibernation on

sunny days. This first generation peaks
by early April, or slightly later in the north.

O Early bumblebees are a species with

distinctive orange tails. Any you see now
are queens foraging or nest-site hunting.

No one has studied this, but hedgehogs could

be badly affected by flooding if it happens
quickly, or over winter. Animals trapped in
nests would struggle, though hedgehogs are
good swimmers and have buoyant spines.
Worm & spider: Stephen Dalton/naturepl.com; hedgehog: Daniel Heuclin/naturepl.com;
comma: David Chapman; bee: Susan & Allan Parker/Alamy; bee-fly: Robin Chittenden/Alamy

Do hedgehogs roam far?

Farther than youd think on average 12km
a night, and a viable urban population needs
at least 90ha (900,000m2). That means
access to hundreds of gardens, hence the
importance of linkages and corridors.

How I can I help hedgehogs?

OGreater bee-flies also emerge early.

A long, protruding proboscis and dangling
legs give them a bizarre profile in flight.

March 2015

O Garden spiders are spinning their first

webs. By April look for clusters of yellow
spiderlings, from eggs laid last autumn.

Food is the first thing on a hedgehogs mind

in spring, quickly followed by sex. Put out
meaty pet food and water for the early risers.
Sow an area with wildflowers to boost insect
food for hedgehog families later in the year.
OHenry Johnson co-ordinates the UKs
leading hedgehog-conservation project.
Join in at www.hedgehogstreet.org

BBC Wildlife

15

Your

Spur

WILD
challenge
SIGNS OF
SPRING
Download this page
at www.discover
wildlife.com, where
youll also find other
nature guides, and
share sightings with
readers on our forum!

Early dog violet

Height Up to 15cm
Lilac flowers. Woods and hedgerows.
Spur behind each flower is dark (pale
in similar common dog violet).

Blackthorn
Height Usually under 4m
Masses of white flowers on thorny
twigs. One of the first hedgerow and
woodland-edge trees to blossom.

Elder
Height Up to 10m
Leaflets unfurl in March or even
February. Tree with a weed-like ability
to thrive on waste ground and verges.

Violets to elm illustrations by Felicity Rose Cole; wood sorrel to speedwell

by C Hart-Davies, A Hardcastle, F Cole & L Harper, taken from Collins Flower Guide

Hawthorn
Height Usually under 8m
Fresh leaves (edible) open in March,
earliest in south or sheltered areas.
Frothy blossom in late April and May.

Wych elm
Height Up to 30m
Bunches of purple-pink flowers in
FebruaryMarch. Woodland and
old hedgerows, especially in hills.

Opposite-leaved
golden saxifrage
Height Up to 10cm
Creeping plant forming mats in wet
woodland; tiny yellow flower clusters.

Wood sorrel
Height Up to 10cm
Delicate, drooping white flowers.
Leaves in threes, like clover; taste
acidic and lemony. Mossy woodland.

Sweet violet
Height Up to 15cm
Scented purple or white flowers.
Woods and hedgerows. Grows from
creeping runners, unlike dog violet.

Marsh marigold
Height Up to 30cm
Golden flowers like giant buttercups.
Glossy green leaves. Water margins,
ditches and damp or flooded woods.

CAN YOU FIND

ALL TWELVE?

How many of these spring

flowers and foliage can you
spot? Post your pictures on
our forum and well feature
the best in the magazine:
www.discoverwildlife.com
Add your records of seasonal
events to the Woodland Trust
Natures Calendar survey:
www.naturescalendar.org.uk

16

BBC Wildlife

Primrose
Height Up to 15cm
Yellow flowers in rosette of wrinkled
leaves. Early-flowering or pink blooms
may be garden polyanthus crosses.

Herb Robert
Height Usually under 30cm
Abundant weed with pretty pink
flowers; fern-like leaves redden with
age. Whole plant smells mousy.

Germander speedwell
Height Up to 20cm
Brilliant azure flowers. One of the
first flowers in pasture and grassy
clearings and rides; also on banks.

March 2015

he dozen wildflowers and

trees we have illustrated are
in the vanguard of spring,
bursting into life well before
the shady canopy of woodland
or competing plants rob them
of light. In southern areas and
sheltered spots, particularly after
milder winters, some of these
blooms and fresh foliage can be
spotted as early as February.
Generally, the widest variety
of spring flowers graces older
woods and hedgebanks, partly
because woodland plants tend
to be slow to colonise new areas.
Some other common early spring
species, not shown here, include
lesser celandine, red dead-nettle,
ground ivy and bugle. Jot down
when you see each one flower to
compare dates with other years.
Also keep an eye out for early
pollinators. Primroses attract
brimstone butterflies, white-tailed
bumblebees and bee-flies (see
p15), while blackthorn is good for
a range of bees and hoverflies.

 KLEIN & HUBERT / WWF

ADOPTION

ADOPT HIM TODAY.

OR LOSE HIM FOREVER.
Will you help the snow leopard claw its
way back from the brink?
Snow leopards have survived in the Himalayas
for thousands of years. But right now, there are
as few as 300 left in Nepal. The harsh reality is
that theyre being slaughtered by poachers for
their bones and precious fur and they urgently
need your help if they are to live on.
By adopting a snow leopard today, youll help protect this
endangered big cat for future generations.

Your present. Their future.

For as little as 3 a month, you or your loved
one will receive an adoption pack, an adorable
cuddly toy and regular updates from people on the ground
working tirelessly to help save the beautiful snow leopard.
Whats more, youll have the satisfaction of knowing youre
helping us to train and equip courageous anti-poaching
rangers. And youll discover what it takes and how it
feels to help save a species.

from just

+
an adoption pack

a gorgeous
snow leopard toy

=
regular updates
from the field

Yes, I would like to adopt a snow leopard today

Please indicate how much you would like to give each month
I would like to give

3 a
month

Adopt a snow leopard today by filling in the form

below, visiting wwfsnowleopard.com
or calling 0845 200 2392

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DISCOVER
garden ponds
These miniature wetlands are a focus of wildlife
interest in any garden, especially in spring.
ven on cold days ponds have
plenty of life below the surface,
with many amphibians and
invertebrates stirring periodically,
but spring sunshine and rising water
temperatures soon trigger a renewed
surge of activity. There are signs
that warmer springs may be causing
this process to happen earlier, with
Britains frogs, newts and aquatic
insects all apparently responding
to changes in climate.
The Freshwater Habitats Trust
hopes to get more people than ever
exploring the ecology of ponds
this spring. Its spawn-counting

Pond: Laurie Campbell; wagtail: John Hawkins/FLPA; newt: Imagebroker/FLPA; pond-skater:

Ingo Arndt/Minden/FLPA; whirligigs: Stephen Dalton/NPL; illustrations by Felicity Rose Cole

and pond-dipping projects aim to

produce nationwide insights into
the changes taking place in these
abundant wildlife oases amazingly
there are thought to be 1.52 million
of them in the UKs gardens.
Perhaps the most striking finding
from previous years surveys is the
importance of the tiniest ponds. For
example, though larger ponds do
tend to support more species, one in
four ponds measuring just a metre
square hosted dragonfly nymphs.

Grey wagtail
O Ponds are magnets for wildlife
and one of the best ways to boost
a gardens bird list. Even in built-up
areas you can attract grey wagtails,
which breed by rushing water but
often move to towns and suburbs
in winter. Your pond might also be
visited by grey herons, while local
birds will use it to drink and bathe.

O If you want to take part in the Big

Spawn Count and the Big Pond Dip,
visit www.freshwaterhabitats.org.uk

Whirligig beetle
O On mild days check the surface
of your pond you might spot
these tiny, shiny, black, oval-shaped
beetles rotating around. Back in
the autumn the adults took flight to
search for new ponds to colonise,
then overwintered in silt at the
bottom. The ones you see in early
spring are the handful of survivors.

18

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

WILD MARCH
4 MORE TO SPOT
POND SNAILS
Several of Britains 40 freshwater
snails may turn up in gardens.
They graze bacteria and algae from
aquatic plants and decaying leaves.

Great
pond snail

Common newt
O Some newts overwinter at the
bottom of ponds, but most shelter
on land in damp corners often
among log piles or long grass, or
under bark or mossy rocks. They
start returning to water in February
and March, but usually breed after
frogs have finished spawning.

DRAGONFLY NYMPHS
Even a pond as small as 1m2 can
support dragonfly larvae. Species
look near-identical, with a fat body
ending in short spikes. Predatory.

Southern
hawker larva

DAMSELFLY NYMPHS
Much slimmer body than dragonfly
larvae, tipped with three flattened
plates, or lamellae. Also predatory.
Several species likely in gardens.

Blue-tailed
damselfly
larva

DIVING BEETLES
The UK has a fantastically diverse
diving beetle fauna, with over 100
similar-looking species. All are
predators as both adult and larva.
Common
black diving
beetle

Pond-skater
O These water-skimming bugs are
true early birds among the first
to emerge in spring, and to arrive at
newly created ponds (sometimes
within hours). Having hibernated in
a sheltered spot away from water,
the overwintering adults become
active again in warm weather.
March 2015

Frog numbers build up for a

few weeks during the main
spawning period, then most
disperse around gardens.

BBC Wildlife

19

4 UK

Variety is the spice of a moths sex life

What? Our very own Phymatopus hecta might just
have the most colourful sex life of any insect.

4 AUSTRIA

Meat, and veg too

Gold swift moths have been found to enjoy what is
possibly the most varied sex life of any insect. While
they do sometimes settle for a moths standard
mating method in which females attract mates with
scent, they may also reverse roles, with males luring
females. Alternatively males may gather in swarms
and chase passing females. More romantically, there
is also the option of a mutual, mid-air courtship
dance. Add to this a variety of copulatory positions
and the result is a veritable lepidopteran Kama Sutra.
SOURCE Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
LINK http://bit.ly/1BoDNil

What? A carnivorous
plant that remembers
to eat its greens.
Bladderworts aquatic
carnivorous plants
that catch microscopic
animals in sophisticated,
bladder-like root traps
are also partial to a side salad, according to new research.
In fact algae and pollen grains constitute 90 per cent of
the species food. Plants deprived of vegetable matter
are smaller than those that enjoy a balanced diet.
SOURCE Annals of Botany LINK http://bit.ly/1CjAuY8

Discoveries

4 RWANDA

The latest news in scientific research, by Stuart Blackman.

4 ARGENTINA

Fleeing the femme fatale

What? Mantids that use their heads
are more likely to keep them.
From left: Premaphotos/naturepl.com; Adrian Warren/ardea.com; Alamy;
Pascal Kobeh/naturepl.com; 2014 Iskandar et al; David Tipling/2020VISION/NPL

Male mantids can increase their chances of

surviving a romantic encounter by avoiding
the feistiest females, new research shows.
While cannibalised males do give their
developing brood a nutritional head start in
life, theyd be better off escaping with their
lives to sire other broods elsewhere. Male
Parastagmatoptera tessellata mantids, at
least, boost their prospects by steering
clear of females they have previously
seen attacking other males.
SOURCE Animal Behaviour
LINK http:// /1CjA7N4

The mother of invention

What? Researchers have witnessed a
clever gorillas Eureka! moment.
In a world-first, a wild gorilla has been seen
using tools to acquire food. The female
mountain gorilla had been watching a male
scooping ants from a hole with his hand
and getting bitten in the process. But after
she made the same painful mistake as her
mentor, inspiration struck, and the gorilla
used a long, thin piece of wood to fish the
insects out much like chimpanzees do.
SOURCE American Journal of Primatology
LINK http://bit.ly/1z7IcF2

20

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

WILD MARCH

4 THE NETHERLANDS & SVALBARD

Good for the goose

What? Migration gives birds
immune systems a break.
Scientists have discovered a
novel advantage of avian longhaul migration. Dutch barnacle
geese that migrate to Svalbard
to breed have been found to turn
down their immune systems
compared with those that stay
in the Netherlands year-round
perhaps they are exposed to
fewer infectious diseases in the
frozen north. The energy saved
can be spent on reproduction.
SOURCE PLoS ONE
LINK http://bit.ly/1xoeNkQ

4 SOUTHEAST ASIA

Mating mystery
What? Scientists
have found a frog with
internal fertilisation
and live birth.
A new species of
fanged frog discovered
in Indonesia exhibits a baffling mode of reproduction.
Instead of producing spawn to be fertilised externally
by the males, the females give birth to live tadpoles.
Exactly how internal fertilisation is achieved, however,
remains a mystery, because the male frog doesnt
seem to possess a penis.
SOURCE PLoS ONE LINK http://bit.ly/1yb2krO

4 THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

Odour eaters
What? Research reveals that a filefishs
camouflage is not to be sniffed at.
Its not just garlic lovers that smell
like their last meal. The harlequin
filefish, which lives and feeds on
Acropora coral, smells so much
like its favourite food that the
scent provides camouflage against
predators. The filefish even smells like
home to specialised Acropora-dwelling
crabs. Its the first evidence of dietinduced camouflage for any vertebrate,
though the researchers believe it might
be a common, if overlooked, strategy.
SOURCE Proceedings of the Royal Society B
LINK http://bit.ly/1v2qxZB

March 2015

+ GET IN TOUCH
If you see some
interesting
behaviour or an
unusual species,
share it at www.
discoverwildlife.
com/forum

BBC Wildlife

21

WILD MARCH

Nick Cottrell/Wildfowl & Wetlands

Trust

If you know a teacher

who brings wildlife into
their classroom then we
want to hear from them.

SCHO O LS DI GITAL
WI LD L I FE AWAR D

22

BBC Wildlife

Calling all teachers: a new award aims to celebrate the

most dynamic wildlife education in British schools.

SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED...

kk YOUR SCHOOL
WILDLIFE ZONE

kk INTERNATIONAL
CONSERVATION

kk SPECIESSPECIFIC

Your digital project

could focus on
your schools
wildlife zone,
reporting on the
different species
that live there, the
behaviour youve
seen and any
seasonal changes.

You could report

on a conservation
issue somewhere
in the world using
research that has
been discussed in
the classroom
anywhere from Africa
to the Antarctic, from
rainforest to desert.

Whether youve
been studying
birds, mammals,
ocean wildlife or
invertebrates,
you can create a
presentation that
looks at groups of
animals or even just
a single species.

kk LOCAL WILDLIFE
Report on a wildlife
reserve nearby,
local conservation
efforts or a specific
species that is
found in your area.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

All entries must be submitted by a teacher or representative of the school over 18 years old by 5pm on 3 June 2015.
Videos must be no longer than three minutes and can be sent via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or posted to us at BBC
Wildlife Magazine, Immediate Media Company, 2nd Floor, Tower House, Fairfax Street, Bristol, BS1 3BN on a CD-ROM.
Do use voiceovers, but we want to avoid on-screen presentation. So no pupils should appear in the presentation or video.
There will be separate awards for Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.
Contact Matt Swaine (left) for guidelines on how to make and submit your presentation before getting started.
Visit www.discoverwildlife.com/competitions to read the rules as well as full terms and conditions.

Tim Graham/Alamy

BC Wildlife is on the hunt for schools

that are leading the way in naturalhistory education. This month we are
launching our new Schools Digital Wildlife
Award that will celebrate the most innovative
teachers and the most enthusiastic classrooms
around the country.
We are asking classes to submit a digital
presentation from the classroom. It could
be in the form of a three-minute video or
a concise Prezi-style presentation that can
combine words, video and pictures (see
http://prezi.com). As long as the presentation
relates to wildlife, you can choose any topic
you like. In fact wed
+ FIND OUT MORE
like you to be as
If your school is
creative as possible
interested in getting
when deciding your
involved, email matt.
theme, but weve
swaine@immediate.
co.uk for full details
suggested some ideas
using the subject
to help you get started
line Wild Schools.
(see box, right).

NEW WILDLIFE
SCHOOL PRIZE

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photographs of these illusive cats in their habitat with Cinnamon Nature Trails.
T: +94 71 139 7460 E: [email protected] W: www.cinnamonnaturetrails.com

WILD MARCH

GUEST COLUMNIST

Chris Packham
Caring wont change the world doing something does. Make your voice heard.

Illustration by Quinton Winter

ack in 1977 I was

standing in a sweaty
crowd watching Eddie
and the Hot Rods.
They were singing
Do Anything You Wanna Do and
I thought, okay, I will. Later I
was at the same music venue,
still sweaty, listening to another
punk band called Penetration.
They were singing Shout Above
the Noise and I thought, hell
yes. And Ive been trying to
do both ever since.
But now everyone can join
in thanks to Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube, online petitions and
so on. For all its alleged ills,
social media has proved to be
a highly effective tool in the
conservationists toolkit. It
allows all of us to engage with
big issues and start a debate.
Last September I was waiting
for a train when I saw a tweet
about a pied wagtail trapped in
a supermarket and apparently
about to be shot (under licence
from Natural England). Surely
it was possible to catch and
release the poor bird? Killing
a wagtail sends out a terrible
message about how we value
life or not. Every little counts.
So I tweeted 140 characters to my
followers and copied in Tesco. There
was outrage at the birds plight, but
also a prompt response from the store
asking for help. I put it in touch with
the BTO, which released the wagtail.
A great example of how social media
empowers us. Were all conservationists
now. Our collective voice can cajole or
at least embarrass powerful people and
organisations into taking notice.
On 10 August last year I also
lent a hand to Hen Harrier Day,
a glorious awareness-raising
initiative which, I think it is fair
to say, was entirely facilitated
by social media, Mark Averys
excellent blog and those of its
supporters such as Birders

Against Wildlife Crime. On the day of

the photocall in deepest Derbyshire, the
tail-end of Hurricane Bertha dumped a lot
of rain on our parade, but it didnt matter
as at 10am over two million people across
the UK received an automated Twitter
message telling them about our grousing.
A YouTube clip later showed people
who couldnt be there what theyd missed,
while TV, radio and printed media picked
up the story so that even more of the
public knew that we were all sick of the
illegal persecution of raptors on driven

grouse moors. And do you

know what, it didnt cost us
anything (apart from a few
tanks of fuel and train tickets).
Thats the difference between
advertising and publicity the
latter is free. I learned this from
the Sex Pistols, whose stunts
made them world-famous and
cost their manager Malcolm
McClaren very little. Poor old
cash-strapped conservation is
learning from the Pistols, too.
Publicity is so much easier
to achieve now that we can
communicate instantaneously
with like-minded millions and
help set the agenda. And as the
above examples modestly show,
we can make a difference.
But whats most encouraging
of all is the way in which young
people are taking control of
this newfangled stuff. Twelveyear-old Findlay Wilde, one of
the real stars of Hen Harrier
Day, has a superb blog, as does
Georgia Locock, just three years
his senior. Both are slick and
engaging, and campaign harder
than some professional suitwearing conservationists.
There are many other great
wildlife and conservation blogs (just take
a look at the BBC Wildlife Local Patch
Reporters project). I urge you to read and
be inspired by them, or start your own.
So I have a new mantra and its not
one inspired by punk rock for a change.
Im telling anyone wholl listen that now,
in these dark days of unscientific culls,
illegal persecution and catastrophic losses
of wildlife, Caring is not enough.
Caring wont change the world doing
something does. Paying your subs to any
number of conservation groups isnt
enough. Take a stand for what
you believe in. Dont just care,
do something. Tweet tweet.

PAYING SUBS TO ANY NUMBER OF

CONSERVATION GROUPS ISNT
ENOUGH. TAKE A STAND FOR
WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN.

March 2015

CHRIS PACKHAM is a conservationist

and broadcaster. Join the BBC Wildlife
Local Patch Reporter blogging project
at www.discoverwildlife.com/forum

BBC Wildlife

25

WILD MARCH

WILD AT HEART

Bill Oddie
Birds are unpredictable creatures you never know where they will choose to hang out.

Illustration by Quinton Winter

nce upon a time

there was a tree. It
stood halfway up
a grassy slope on
Parliament Hill near
my home in North London. It
wasnt the only tree on the Hill,
but this tree was different.
First of all, it was dead.
Second of all, it was much
loved by birds and therefore
also by birdwatchers. Over
several years especially in the
migration periods the tree
provided a resting place for
many species. Some days it had
a different one perched on top
every time we looked. The bird,
whatever the species, would
be checking its inner satnav,
taking on fuel by flycatching
from the lower branches or
even having a little snooze
sheltered or shaded by the few
remaining leaves. We called it
The Migration Tree.
Then one morning we birders
gathered on the Hill to find
that the tree had disappeared,
its execution no doubt ordered
by the Hampstead Heath
Management Committee. This
was confirmed by one of the
rangers. Why? we asked.
The excuse we were given was rather
predictable: Health and safety.
But, we protested, it was only a
spindly little tree, and it wasnt even by
a footpath. The ranger gave us an Im
only following orders shrug, and tried to
console us by pointing out that there was
another tree about 10m away, which was
around the same size and actually alive.
Surely the birds would use that instead.
But they didnt. Since that day springs
and autumns have come and gone, but
no migrant has ever perched on
or in the other tree, nor on the
sad little stump that is all that
remains of the original and still
the greatest. No doubt fed up
with our constant whingeing,
the Committee eventually

announced that they were planting another

tree as a memorial to Peter, an elderly
birder who had just passed on. It was one
of his last wishes that The Migration Tree
be replaced. But of course theres no way
to revive a dead tree.
We will never know why the migrating
birds found the dead tree so irresistible.
All we do know is that it was a hotspot
every birder can name at least one. It
could be a dilapidated gate, an abandoned
tractor, a damp ditch or a patch of bramble.
You learn to recognise them, but you cant

really create them deliberately.

For example, a couple of
years ago the RSPB sowed a
small wildflower meadow on
the slope of Parliament Hill.
It was meant to attract house
sparrows and it was enclosed by
a fence, or rather a dangly rope
that kept entangling local dogs
but generally deterred people
(and was eventually removed).
Nevertheless, in two years the
meadow attracted not a single
sparrow. The fence, on the
other hand, became a hotspot
for inveterate perchers such as
meadow pipits, wheatears (see
p12), whinchats and redstarts. We
and they really miss that rope.
Conservation groups such
as the RSPB and The Wildlife
Trusts are extremely successful
at creating and managing
habitats on their reserves. Build
it and they will come is an apt
motto. But there will always be
fortuitous accidents. Late last
year the London Birders site
(http://londonbirders.wikia.
com/wiki/LatestNews) posted
regular bulletins from a traffic
island in Leyton. Some thought
it must be a joke, especially
when sightings in mid-December included
both a reed warbler and a whitethroat the
two species should have been in Africa at
that time of year.
But it wasnt a joke. The whitethroat
only left when the council chopped down
its favourite brambles not on purpose,
Im sure and the reed warbler made it
through Christmas! A total aberration?
Maybe, but preferable to being shot at
or trapped in the Mediterranean.
Later this year The Wildlife Trusts will
be highlighting the value of, and threats
to, unofficial and unprotected
wildlife havens. I hope that they
dont ignore the importance of
traffic islands.

EVERY BIRDER KNOWS A HOTSPOT.

IT COULD BE A DILAPIDATED GATE,
AN ABANDONED TRACTOR, A DAMP
DITCH OR A PATCH OF BRAMBLE.

March 2015

BILL ODDIE OBE presents natural-history

programmes for the BBC. His new book
Unplucked is published in March.

BBC Wildlife

27

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BBC Wildlife Magazine is full of breathtaking photos

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Simon Litten

7 WAYS
TO SAVE
BRITAINS
NATURE
A new approach to conservation seeks to
calculate the value of nature to our nations
health, wealth and security. It could unleash
ambitious policies with the potential not only
to save the wildlife we have left, but to restore
Britains nature at scale within a single human
generation. Tony Juniper investigates.

COMPLEMENTS

SHARED
PLANET
BROADCAST ON

The presence of barn owls

indicates we are using land
well. They thrive in joined-up
landscapes with healthy soils
and invertebrate life, which also
reduce the risk of flooding.

o save Britains nature within a generation,

we have to radically rethink our approach.
For more than a century, conservation has
focused on protecting natural habitats from
people, while politicians and economists
have insisted this blocks progress and
prosperity. But a new idea is emerging that
seeks to identify the value that nature brings
to our health and economy. Britains nature
is estimated to be worth 1.5 trillion each
year, providing services such as replenishing

water supplies, guarding against floods,

storing carbon and producing food.
A new strategy that fully values natures
contribution to our lives has the potential to
create win-win policies that deliver for both
people and wildlife. And that could trigger
change that can be quantified not just in
barn owls, bluebell woods and bumblebee
colonies, but also in our GDP, infrastructure
and physical and mental health. Here are
seven key areas we should be focusing on.

BBC Wildlife

31

START WITH
INVERTEBRATES
We tend to be drawn towards
bigger wildlife, but in the end its
the small, even invisible, species
that sustain everything. Among
them are thousands of species of
bacteria and fungi, and the larger
earthworms, bees, hoverflies and
butterflies. Yet weve become
accustomed to the idea that
food security depends on
technology, so have lost sight
of the vital role played by pollinating
insects and by soil ecosystems in
recycling nutrients.
Its estimated soil degradation costs
Britain between 900 million and
1.4 billion every year, including the
flood damage caused by erosion as
soil from fields ends up in riverbeds.
The minimum cost of restoring the

32

BBC Wildlife

UKs pollinators, should

they be lost, has been put
at 1.8 billion annually.
We could slash those
huge sums if more UK
farmland looked like
the Allerton Project in
Leicestershire, managed
by the Game and
Wildlife Conservation
Trust. This initiative has
demonstrated how big cuts
in soil erosion can be achieved
if tractor lines follow contours rather
than go across them up and down
slopes, which prevents silt entering
streams, protecting the habitat of fish
such as brown trout. Its flower-rich field
margins, tree planting and hedgerows
help to improve soil, boost pollinator

populations, and help birds

such as lapwings (left), corn
buntings and tree sparrows.
Cider-producer Thatchers
provides another case
study of how conservation
and making a decent profit go
together. The 60-milliona-year Somerset company is
restoring bumblebee habitat
because bumblebees are better
pollinators than domesticated
honeybees, and is helping them
thrive in the orchards that drive its
profits. Conserving old hedges and
grasslands is part of the plan, in turn
favouring owls and bats.
If we reformed the way that farm
payments are allocated and set up
farmer-advisory services to help
growers change how they use the
land, the benefits seen at the Allerton
Project and Thatchers orchards could
be commonplace across Britain.
March 2015

SAVING NATURE
Left: flower-rich field margins
boost pollinators, farmland
birds and soil structure.
Below: bottlenose dolphins
are a tourism asset in the
Moray Firth and Cardigan Bay.

Field: Paul Miguel/FLPA; dolphin: John MacPherson/2020VISION/NPL; lapwing: David Tipling/2020VISION/NPL

THE

VALUE
OF NATURE

1.8
BILLION
COST TO
RESTORE UKS
POLLINATORS,
SHOULD THEY
BE LOST

SAVE OUR SEAS

Britains seafood market is worth 2.73

billion a year, and the right policy mix can
preserve that value while improving the
health of our marine ecosystem. Fishing
is based on food-webs that are in the
end reliant on photosynthetic plankton.
Tiny plants feed tiny animals that feed
bigger ones including ultimately the
cod, haddock, plaice, shellfish and other
species that comprise the UKs half-milliontonne annual seafood catch. Just over
10,000 people using about 6,575 vessels
rely on this harvest for their income, with
thousands more jobs in processing, retail,
gear manufacture and maintenance.
Meanwhile, those same food-webs sustain
the seabird colonies, seals, dolphins and
basking sharks that are such magnets for
tourism, bringing millions of pounds a
year to coastal communities from Shetland
to Skomer and the Scillies. Yet all these
benefits are being undermined by, among
other things, destructive fishing methods
and pollution coming from the land.
Much of this damage is avoidable. Official
regulators could encourage more British
water companies to install the kind of

technology being pioneered by Thames

Water at its Slough sewage treatment works,
which strips phosphorous from wastewater
before discharge. This is protecting river
and coastal waters from excessive nutrient
enrichment, while making fertiliser that is
then sold to farmers.
Another neat technological fix is trawling
gear redesigned to minimise damage to
the seabed for example, vessels based at
Brixham in Devon have fitted wheels to the
ends of the heavy trawl beams that would
otherwise crash into the seafloor. The new
designs actually increase fishing incomes,
since nets last longer and less fuel is needed
to roll their wheels along.
But the biggest measure to save British
seas by 2050 would be to create more
protected areas covering a variety of
environments, from Scottish kelp forests
to cold-water reefs in the English Channel.
Counterintuitively, this neednt cost the
fishing industry. The experience of Lundy
Islands Marine Conservation Zone shows
that lobster size increases with no-take
zones, and that this effect also expands into
surrounding areas still being exploited.

BBC Wildlife

33

3
Otter: Andrew Parkinson/FLPA; deer: Andy Rouse/NPL;
fen: Terry Whittaker/2020VISION/NPL; harrier: Mark Schuurman/Minden/FLPA

WORK WITH
NATURES OWN
INFRASTRUCTURE
By restoring habitat and using land
differently, we can clean up water supplies
and reduce flooding, saving tens of millions
of pounds annually while enhancing the
environment. We just need to design
legislation that realises the potential in
Britains green infrastructure.
One step would be to map Britain to
identify where the big wins for water
treatment, flood-avoidance, conservation
and recreation lie. Such a map could
promote joined-up land use, by helping
co-operation between companies, farmers
and government agencies.
Some water companies already harness
natures capacities. A high proportion of
their costs comes from water treatment,
to remove pesticides, soil particles and the
peaty coloration leaching from degrading
uplands. Expensive technology has often
been installed to strip out these pollutants,
but a far cheaper alternative is to repair
natural habitats and work with farmers to
reduce soil loss and chemical use. Measures
to improve water purity can reduce flood
risk, as healthier habitats hold water in the
environment for longer. Work by South
West Water to restore blanket bogs on
Exmoor brought rapid results. Northern
Ireland Water is restoring blanket bog
in the Dungonnell catchment area,
delivering cheaper water and a win
for species such as hen harriers
(right), merlins and
the rare yellow
marsh saxifrage.
34

BBC Wildlife

THINK AT LANDSCAPE-SCALE
The arbitrary lines crisscrossing
Britain that arise from a long history of
ever-changing ownership dont match
where key green assets lie or could
be most beneficially restored.
So if we are really ambitious
about conservation, we need
to go beyond each field, farm
gate, boundary and official label
whether nature reserve, AONB or
national park to preserve nature
at landscape-scale.
This idea isnt new it has
steadily gained currency over the
past decade, with The Wildlife
Trusts launching its Living
Landscapes initiative in
2006 but it remains
a challenge to the

status quo. It requires us to escape

the straightjacket of who happens
to own or manage particular bits of
land or coast. The experience of The
Wildlife Trusts in places such as the
Cambridgeshire Fens, Chiltern Hills,
Sherwood Forest, Lincolnshire coastal
marshes and Upper Tawe Valley shows
that the benefits to nature can be
enormous, provided there is the will
to bring together many different landowners and managers.
How can we spread this approach
more widely? One answer is a Nature
and Wellbeing Act like that proposed
by The Wildlife Trusts and RSPB,
which would empower (indeed,
require) local authorities to restore
and join up natural landscapes.
March 2015

SAVING NATURE

THE

VALUE
OF NATURE

650
MILLION
COSTS AVOIDED
BY 10 MILLION
RESTORATION
OF SOUTH-WEST
CATCHMENTS

Left: wetland restoration

helps otters while cutting
our water bills.
Top right: Richmond Parks
wild areas contribute to the
wellbeing of city dwellers.
Below: the rewetting of
Cambridgeshire fenland
has benefits for farming,
tourism and nature.

KEEP US HEALTHY

Research proves beyond doubt the

medical benefits of being in nature.
Treating mental-health problems costs
an estimated 105 billion per year in
England alone, s0 could natures ability
to alleviate depression and anxiety help
control a spiralling NHS bill?
We know hospital patients recover
faster if they can see greenery or hear
birdsong from their beds. This is why
the new Alder Hey Childrens Hospital,
set to open in Liverpool in the autumn,
incorporates extensive green areas,
including iconic turfed roofs.
The health benefits of spending
time immersed in nature are most

pronounced among lower-income

groups. Theres also evidence that
improving access to green spaces,
such as city parks, allotments and
nature reserves, reduces crime rates.
In that context, the 1.5 million cost
of Woodberry Wetlands, the inspiring
new reserve opening this year in Stoke
Newington, North London, looks like
small beer. Opportunities abound to
align conservation and social goals.
Its in our national economic interest
to have wildlife-rich areas near where
people live. With a Nature for Health
strategy, we could reverse the fortunes
of many declining species.

4
5

SAVING NATURE
Reform of farming subsidies
could not only save Britains
yellow wagtails, but also
cut heavy spending in areas
such as flood prevention.

Chris Gomersall/2020VISION/NPL

INVEST IN
NATURAL ASSETS

When you start to account for the value

that nature gives our economy, its easy
to start identifying policies that benefit
people and wildlife alike. But in an era
of spending constraints, the question
of how we actually fund wildlife
restoration is crucial. The challenge
is to use existing budgets cleverly.
Take farming subsidies, for example.
Without reform, birds such as the
yellow wagtail, turtle dove and grey
partridge could be lost to the UK within
a decade. Subsidies also encourage
the kinds of behaviour that exacerbate
the soil damage that in turn increases
flood risk and pushes up costs for water
companies. So society is not getting the
value it deserves from this investment.
Surely a better approach would be
to distribute funding through public
subsidies in a joined-up fashion so

THE

VALUE
OF NATURE

36

BBC Wildlife

that investors in water companies and

officials who allocate farm payments are
working to broadly the same plan. At
the moment, one chunk of expenditure
(in this case farm payments) ends up
increasing expenditure in other areas
(such as water supply and reducing
the risk of floods).
Over the next 15 years, about
100 billion will be spent in Britain
on agricultural subsidies, our water
supply and either defending against or
cleaning up after flooding. On top of
that is the money that will be spent on
environmental schemes by government
conservation agencies, wildlife charities
and companies. Then theres the NHS
budget, where huge savings from
nature are possible. If a more joinedup approach were adopted, these vast
resources could work harder for wildlife.

100
BILLION

FARM SUBSIDIES,
FLOOD & WATER
INVESTMENTS IN
NEXT 15 YEARS

ASSESS
NATURES
TRUE
VALUE

Moving beyond protecting species and

habitats from people towards seeing nature
as essential for people worries some
conservationists. They fear that an economic
rationale for conservation will lead to nature
being commodified or privatised, instead of
valued for its own sake. Yet as a society weve
tried saving nature for its own sake and
its not enough. As it stands, conservation
groups and public bodies simply arent
doing enough between them.
Assessing natures economic contribution
will help us all to appreciate its true worth.
Revealing the financial stimulus that nature
offers Britain will give us a fighting chance
of turning round a situation in which 60 per
cent of our species are in decline.
One practical step would be to create an
Office for Environmental Responsibility.
The principle of having an expert body that
can advise governments and hold ministers
to account was enshrined in the 2008
Climate Change Act, and does work. We
can learn from this and plenty of other
inspiring examples. The big question is
whether there is an appetite to do so.

TONY JUNIPER is a conservationist

and former director of Friends of
the Earth (www.tonyjuniper.com).
His new book What Nature Does
for Britain is out now (9.99, Profile Books).
+ FIND OUT MORE
Tony debates the relationship between
economics and nature in Beavers in
Business, part of BBC Radio 4s Shared Planet series.
Listen at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n31w4

March 2015

Warbler Guide App

Tom Stephenson & Scott Whittle

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AGENDA

1 WE ASKED YOU...

ii UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES | BE PART OF THE SOLUTION

Which animal
species would
you save?
h THE TOP ANSWERS INCLUDING
YOUR WINNER ARE ON P45

Theo Allofs/Minden/FLPA

Tiger numbers in India

are on the up, but
experts say there is
room for plenty more of
these iconic big cats.

INDIAS TIGERS BURNING BRIGHT

NEW GOVERNMENT DATA SUGGESTS THAT THE POPULATION HAS INCREASED BY 58 PER CENT SINCE 2006.

ndia has room for between

5,000 and 10,000 tigers
if central and state
governments and conservation
groups get their policies right,
according to one of the worlds
leading tiger experts.
Dr K Ullas Karanth, of the
Wildlife Conservation Society
in India, made his comments
as the Wildlife Institute of India
(WII) released its third countrywide census showing another
big increase in tiger numbers
in the past four years.
Since 2010, tiger numbers
are estimated to have increased
30 per cent to 2,226 (within an
error margin of 1,9452,491).

March 2015

once occurred, less

The first survey in
than 200,000km2
2006 found only
an estimated 1,411
is currently
animals.
occupied by tigers,
Karanth said
and of this, only 20
The number of tigers in
that states such
per cent supports
Karnataka, the state with
as Karnataka,
reasonable
the biggest population.
Madhya Pradesh,
densities.
Maharashtra and Uttarakhand
India launched Project Tiger
had used extra funding for
in 1973, and despite arresting
tiger conservation effectively by
the imminent extinction of the
improving protection, promoting
tiger, it has not been able to
the voluntary relocation of
substantially increase numbers
villagers and expanding habitat.
in the past 42 years.
But he added: The fact is that
Julian Matthews, of Travel
3040 major source populations
Operators for Tigers (TOFT),
hold over 90 per cent of our
said tourism had a key role to
tigers. Out of 380,000km2 of
play in conserving tigers. While
conceding that it was far from
existing forests in which tigers

406

perfect, with education often

non-existent and development
unplanned and poorly
executed, Matthews said: A
study in 2010 concluded that
a single tiger in a well-visited
reserve is worth $750,000 a year
in revenue. When it only costs
a few thousand dollars a year to
preserve a tiger in the wild, this
huge rate of return is a figure
that no government can ignore.
James Fair

+ FIND OUT MORE

Read the Wildlife Institute of
Indias report: www.wii.gov.in/
status_tiger_2014

BBC Wildlife

39

CAPER
PLAN IN
BALANCE
Removing pine martens
is not certain to help.

A ranger guards a
consignment of illegal
rosewood, but an
estimated 3.5 million m3
got through to China
between 2000 and 2013.

THAI FOREST POACHING CRISIS

ILLEGAL DEMAND FOR VALUABLE HARDWOOD IS FUELLING A DANGEROUS CONFLICT.
rare hardwood is at the
centre of an escalating
poaching war in the
eastern forests of Thailand.
Conservationists fear that the
incursion of armed gangs into the
Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest
Complex, a 6,000km2 UNESCO
World Heritage Site, could have
implications for other species
such as tigers and elephants.
With its blood-red hue, Siam
rosewood is highly sought-after
in China for the manufacture of
hongmu furniture, which has
become a status symbol a single
chair can sell for up to $1m.
The forests of Laos, Cambodia
and Vietnam have been virtually
stripped of rosewood, and as

From left: Ann & Steve Toon/toonphoto.com; Mark Hamblin; George Steinmetz/Corbis

From left: Attila E Bicskos; WDC; Natalino Fenech

CONSERVATION
SHARK BIRTH
A thresher shark in the
Philippines has been
photographed giving birth,
possibly a photographicfirst for an oceanic species.
The researcher who lead the
expedition, Dr Simon Oliver,
said he freaked out when
he first saw the photo.

40

BBC Wildlife

its price has soared as high as

$100,000 per m3, the gangs have
set their sights on Thailand.
Eric Ash of the Freeland
Foundation, an anti-trafficking
organisation that helps train antipoaching rangers, said cameratraps had recorded a 950 per cent
increase in poacher numbers in
one three-month period alone.
Groups of up to 150 men,
mainly Cambodians who cross
the nearby border illegally, are
entering the forest armed with
chainsaws and AK-47s, Ash
said. As well as taking the
wood, they poach wildlife for
food and clear large areas for
their camps. If we cant protect
the Siam rosewood, its going

to have significant implications

for other species, he warned.
Rangers are outnumbered and
under-resourced. In the past
two years several have been
wounded and one killed.
Trade treaties require permits
for international commerce, but
these and legislation to protect
the species in the range states
of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia
and Vietnam have been
largely undermined by largescale smuggling and rampant
corruption. Ann & Steve Toon

+ FIND OUT MORE

The Foundations site has more
details: www.freeland.org

A plan to remove pine

martens from Scottish
woodlands to help
capercaillies will not happen
before 2016 if at all
according to the director
of conservation for the
Cairngorms National Park,
Hamish Trench.
At the end of 2014, news
emerged of a proposal
from the Game & Wildlife
Conservation Trust to
translocate pine martens
out of capercaillie habitat to
protect eggs and chicks.
But Trench said there was
no proof that the plan really
would help capercaillie
numbers recover: The
idea has not yet developed
far enough for us to say
whether its good or not.

+ FIND OUT MORE

Read about capercaillies in
the Cairngorms NP: http://
cairngorms.co.uk/lookafter/cairngorms-nature/

briefing
WE HOPE THAT VISITORS
TO ICELAND WILL TREAT
THIS OFFERING WITH
THE DISDAIN THAT
IT DESERVES.
Whale and Dolphin Conservations
Vanessa Williams-Grey on a new
beer, Hvalur 2, that contains
smoked fin-whale testicles.

March 2015

AGENDA NEWS

MARK
CARWARDINE
THE DILEMMAS
OF CONSERVATION

More than 1,200 rhinos

were poached in South
Africa alone in 2014.

SPACEAID RHINOS
Can space technology help
the fight against poaching?

A system that would allow

rangers to remotely monitor
nature reserves is being
developed by students
exploiting technology that is
used in the space industry.
The students from Cranfield
University, Bedford, want to
put high-resolution imaging
systems created for space
telescopes onto sophisticated
unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs, or drones).
They say this would allow park
staff to receive detailed pictures

covering up to 1km2 in almost real

time, potentially alerting them
to illegal intrusions by poachers.
The UAV they want to develop
would fly higher, farther and for
longer than conventional drones.
Edward Anastassacos, a
member of the project team,
told BBC Wildlife that they had
had exploratory talks with two
conservation groups in the UK,
LionAid and Save the Rhino.

+ FIND OUT MORE

2014 was a record year for
rhino poaching: www.save
therhino.org/rhino_info

NEW SAKI MONKEY

ALREADY AT RISK

15%

The estimate for

A new saki monkey may have been found in
whats left of native
Brazil, and while its exact status is under
forest cover in the
debate, it is certainly threatened. It was
area of Minas Gerais
found by mammalogist Manoel dos Santos
where the new saki
monkey was found.
Filho in a 3ha forest remnant in Minas
Gerais. Remarkably, the animal is not tiny:
a saki monkey is the size of a pet cat, and makes large, obvious
jumps. Agricultural expansion in the region is now so fast that
soya is being grown in areas biologists have never visited, and
the saki was discovered in just such a place. Adrian Barnett

SPRING VOTE
The Maltese electorate will vote on whether to
end the controversial spring hunting season on
11 April. The hunting of turtle doves a species
that has declined in Europe by an estimated 95
per cent and quail has long been deemed to be
unsustainable and in contravention of EU
legislation. It has been brought to national
attention in the UK by campaigners
such as Chris Packham (see p25).

March 2015

orth American
conservationists
are facing a tricky
dilemma. In the 1980s
endangered northern
spotted owls were at the
centre of a bitter dispute
between loggers and
environmentalists over the
protection of their habitat,
the old-growth forests of
the Pacific North-West.
They are under threat
once again this time
from other owls. More
aggressive barred
owls have been
expanding their
range across
North America,
and wherever
they turn up in
the North-West,
the spotted owls
disappear.
After a lot of
soul-searching,
the US Fish and Wildlife
Service has decided to try
shooting enough barred
owls to create breathing
room for the spotted
owls (far be it from me to
suggest that they should
have saved plenty of room
for them in the first place).
But how many is enough?
Some experts are talking
about a figure of 10,000
barred owls every year,
indefinitely. Is that even
possible? And would the
species survive?
Some protagonists liken
owl removal to pulling
up weeds, while others
are concerned that this

approach ignores any

sense of compassion. It is a
choice between the survival
of an endangered species
and the lives of individual
animals, with the added
worry that, if the spotted
owls disappear, there will
be a weaker argument for
protecting their forests.
The US Fish and Wildlife
Service is damned if it does,
and damned if it doesnt.
Conservationists often
remove some animals

THE US FISH AND

WILDLIFE SERVICE
IS DAMNED IF
IT DOES, AND
DAMNED IF
IT DOESNT.
for the sake of others.
In the UK we kill grey
squirrels to protect reds
and American mink to
protect water voles (see
p70), while rats, mice and
other introduced predators
are killed everywhere from
New Zealand to South
Georgia to safeguard
ground-nesting birds.
There is no easy answer.
It makes sense to sacrifice
invasive rodents, yet I
sympathise with the man
who told the US Fish
and Wildlife Service,You
should trap the barred owls
and put them on a train
to us. Well have them.

Mark Carwardine is a zoologist, photographer, writer,

conservationist and BBC TV presenter.

BBC Wildlife

41

Curlews have benefited

from EU legislation
with the protection
and creation of coastal
habitats in the UK.

EUROPEAN BIRD POLICY

IN FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
WITH CRUCIAL WILDLIFE LEGISLATION
FACING REVIEW, JAMES FAIR FINDS
OUT JUST HOW IMPORTANT EUROPE
HAS BEEN IN PROTECTING BRITISH
SPECIES AND THREATENED HABITATS.
hough regarded by
conservationists as
vital pieces of wildlife
legislation, the European
Birds and Habitats Directives
are under threat thanks to a
suspicion within the European
Commission (EC) that they stifle
economic growth.

Clockwise from top left: Mike Lane;

Terry Joyce x2; Andrew Mason/FLPA

LEGAL EAGLES:
HOW EUROPE
PROTECTS
OUR WILDLIFE
Legislation that improves the
environment has been a key
part of Europes agenda.

42

BBC Wildlife

Its feared that a review being

carried out this year could seek
to relax the directives in order to
remove obstacles to trade. This
could escalate into the biggest
battle of all time or we could put
it to bed for a generation, says
the RSPBs campaigns manager
Andre Farrar. It will be the

biggest thing that any of us have

ever had to fight.
According to the RSPBs
senior policy officer Alistair
Taylor, the origins of the review
date back to comments made by
UK chancellor George Osborne
in 2011. If we burden [business]
with endless social and
environmental goals however
worthy in their own right then
not only will we not achieve
those goals, but the businesses
will fail, jobs will be lost, and our
country will be poorer... We will
make sure that gold plating of
EU rules on things like habitats

1979
The then-EEC ratifies the Directive
on the Conservation of Wild Birds
(the Birds Directive), which requires
member states to classify Special
Areas of Conservation (SPAs) for
two groups: birds that are known
to be rare and all migratory birds.

arent placing ridiculous costs on

British businesses.
New EC president JeanClaude Juncker then took up the
fight against red tape when he
assumed his post in 2014.
But Farrar is in no doubt that
the directives have protected
British wildlife. London Gateway,
for example, a port that opened in
2013, only got the go-ahead when
its developer DP World agreed to
create habitat for waders because
the site it wanted to build on was
a Special Protection Area (SPA),
a designation that was created
by the Birds Directive.

1992

Migrant dunlin are

protected by the
Birds Directive.

The European Commission

adopts the Habitats Directive. This
requires members to designate land as
Special Areas of Conservation or SACs,
with priority given to habitat types that
are rare, under threat or mainly
found within the EU.

March 2015

AGENDA ANALYSIS
HOW EUROPE CHANGED BRITAIN
This map shows Special
Areas of Conservation
(SACs) and Special
Protected Areas (SPAs)
designated by European
legislation. In England
these are mainly on the
coast, while Scotlands
interior is well protected.
Though not newly
created habitat like
Stanford Wharf, Stanford
Marshes NR is protected
by the Birds Directive.

SACs
SPAs

the Ribble
the Wash

the Mersey

Stanford
Wharf NR
Dibden Bay

`a
THE BIRDS
DIRECTIVE IS
THE WORLDS
LEADING PIECE
OF NATURE
LEGISLATION.
Stanford Wharf Nature Reserve
in Essex is now a haven for
avocets and black-tailed godwits,
while DP World is creating a

1996
Legislation requiring EC countries
to manage air quality is introduced.
Today, a number of directives and
regulations set legally binding limits
on concentrations of pollutants
such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur
dioxide and ammonia.

March 2015

131ha reserve on the other side

of the Thames in Kent.
Another port proposal, in
Dibden Bay in Hampshire, was
rejected because it didnt pass the
necessary tests introduced by the
Birds Directive. An expansion of
the A11 in Suffolk has gone ahead,
but only because the Highways
Agency has agreed to fund
habitat creation elsewhere in
the Brecks for stone curlews a
Birds Directive Annex I species.
House building in parts of
Surrey has only been allowed to
go ahead where developers have
agreed to put in recreational

2000
The Water Framework Directive
is passed. The directive requires
countries to ensure that rivers, lakes
and coastal waters are in a good
condition, based on criteria such
as their suitability for fish, pollutant
levels and the condition of riverbanks.

green space to relieve pressure

on heathland nightjar habitat.
The Birds Directive is the
leading piece of legislation for
nature in the world, says Farrar.
Birds on Annex 1 do better in
SPAs than outside them, and
better within the EU than in the
rest of Europe. Without it, we
would not have the Wash, the
Ribble or the Mersey [as habitats
for wading birds].
IS EUROPE ALL GOOD?
These two key directives are just
part of what Europe has done
for us. European legislation
has also made our beaches
and coastal waters cleaner,
reduced pollution in rivers
and maintained our air quality,
and most people recognise
this. Two-thirds of the British
public think that Europe has
been positive in protecting the
environment, says RSPB chief
executive Mike Clarke.
Some aspects of EU policy,
however, have been less
beneficial for wildlife. The
Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP), for example, does not
have an impressive track record.
Since the UK joined the EEC in
1973, populations of farmland
birds have plummeted, with

numbers today
estimated to be less
than half what they
were in 1970. Some
specialist species,
such as corn buntings
and grey partridges,
have declined by as
much as 90 per cent,
and many point the
finger at CAP.
But whats happened to our
skylarks and yellowhammers
isnt necessarily the fault of
CAP, says the BTOs head
of land-use research, Gavin
Siriwardena. In the 1970s
and 80s, it was the policy
mechanism that underpinned
the intensification of
agriculture, Siriwardena says.
There were improvements in
agrochemicals, mechanisation
and crop varieties that allowed
winter sowing, all happening at
the same time CAP allowed
these to happen, so it was the
means rather than the cause.
And crucially, Siriwardena
adds, CAP includes a regulatory
element that obliges landowners
to take account of nature in the
way they farm. My general
impression, he concludes,
is that, at an EU level, there
is more interest in investing
in social and environmental
issues than the average UK
government would have.

+ FIND OUT MORE

The EC review: http://
ec.europa.eu/environment/
nature/legislation/fitness_
check/index_en.htm

BBC Wildlife

43

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LETTER OF THE MONTH

Are we doing enough to teach
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Tell us your experiences.

PICK OF THE
TWEETS
Over 500,000 birds
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@IUCN

IDENTIFICATION CRISIS
I wholeheartedly agree with Chris Packham
when he says that there is a lack of knowledge
of species identification (January). I have been
a practising field naturalist for over 60 years
and teach species identification at Nottingham
University. Many of our students who hold BSc
degrees in biology know next to nothing about
the species they hope to photograph.
When I lecture in schools, I ask why natural
history is never on the curriculum, and the
answer is always the same: We already know
all there is to know on this subject, so we
dont teach it. This is of course totally untrue.
Why should upcoming generations be denied
the knowledge of other beings that share our

planet? It is increasingly important that our

children become educated in natural history
because they will be tomorrows decisionmakers. With no knowledge of the natural
world, how can we expect them to protect
what is left of our wildlife resources?
The only answer is to bring the study of
natural history back into the classroom. This
idea has, of course, one major drawback: few
of todays schoolteachers have the knowledge
to bring it to fruition. When I went to school,
we had both a nature table and the privilege
of teachers who at least knew something
about the countrys wildlife.
Dr David Glynne Fox, Via email

Its #InvasivesWeek
spreading the word
about how you can
help ow.ly/IkpXd
#CheckCleanDry
@DefraGov.uk

Very enjoyable talk

by @eddrewitt on
the urban peregrine
this weekend
@swperegrines
Follow BBC Wildlife at
twitter.com/WildlifeMag

BE A WINNING WRITER
The Letter of the Month wins a pair of HI-TEC V-Lite SpHike
Mid waterproof boots, worth 79.99 and perfect for hiking.
Theyre available in sizes 712 for men and 48 for women.
For more information, visit www.hi-tec.com/uk

44

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

YOUR FEEDBACK
A plan with problems
Legalising the trade in rhino
horn is unlikely to work (Agenda,
January). South Africa is home to
about 83 per cent of the worlds
rhino population, and has lost
3,700 animals since the escalation
of poaching in 2008. Today only
20,000 white rhinos and 4,800
black rhinos survive in the wild.
Legalised trade can only be
approved if two-thirds of all
CITES members agree, and
this agreement is unlikely. If
1 per cent of the Asian market
consumes a mere 5g of rhino
horn per person per annum,
the demand for rhino horn
would amount to 74 tons per
year. According to a study by
the South African government,
the farming of horn in South
Africa would only yield 3.6 tons
per year. This means that few
rhinos are available to meet the
demand, and South Africas
existing 20-ton stockpile would
be sold immediately, increasing
the likelihood of more poaching.
What is required is urgent
intervention by CITES and intergovernment co-operation to
enforce laws and regulations.
Ian Bales-Smith, Afrika Business

Its a bugs life

Thank you so much for
mentioning Buglife in your
Which would you save? article
(February) as I had never heard
of this charity before. I am
fascinated by invertebrates
whenever I am on a nature walk
I spend a lot of time watching
the insects I come across,
and I always come back from
holidays abroad with dozens
of photographs of all the tiny
creatures Ive seen. They are a

March 2015

vital part of our ecosystem and

it is such a shame that they
dont get the same recognition
and exposure as the larger and
more familiar species. I have
now become a member (it costs
just 2 a month) and I hope
that many other readers will
be inspired to do the same.
Rachel Howlett, London
I was interested to read biologist
David Goulsons idea that
creatures lower down the chain
will have a huge effect on those
animals further up. Without
an ecosystem, which insects
naturally support, the system will
die and within that the creatures
we all love. Reading this article
made me aware of something
I had never considered before.
Natasha Caines, Southampton

Partial to plankton
I was delighted to read Januarys
Photo Story Alien migration
(below left). What a fascinating
topic! The photos were beautiful,
and four of the pages now grace
the walls of my house. I am
hugely enthusiastic about marine
invertebrates, and the weird and
wonderful, so thank you for such
an enjoyable feature.
Lorna Williamson, Finland

Sounds and silence

I have been reading BBC Wildlife
for months, and couldnt have
more praise for it. But why so
little about the sounds of nature?
Granted, there is the
occasional snippet for
example, in the article
discussing elephants detection
of the infrasonic frequencies
generated by thunderstorms
(Discoveries, January) but
overall sound is severely
neglected and mostly
forgotten about. Follow
any wildlife blog or
read the latest tweets
from naturalists,
and they will all be
filled to the brim
with zoom-lens
photographs and
links to the latest
HD footage.
But what about
descriptions of the
truly spectacular,

HELLO SAILOR
My friend works for the navy,
and recently helped produce
a short film documenting a
trialled missile launch just
off the southern coast of
England. When he showed me
the film, I immediately asked
him to pause it as this gull
was right in front of the camera
(I was admittedly much more
interested in the bird than the
advanced weaponry). I initially
thought it was a black-headed,
but the bill and neck seem off.
Is it a little gull? Or another
species entirely?

Paul Stamper, Liverpool

highly detailed sounds made by

many of the species captured?
Mark Ferguson, Via email
Editor Matt Swaine says: Great
point. Why not join our Local
Patch Reporters project and
share recordings on our forum?

Calling all citizens

Your article Understand your
garden birds highlighted the
value of citizen-science projects
(January). Here in the USA
Project FeederWatch asks people
to count the bird species that use
their feeders. Run by Cornell
University and Bird Studies
Canada, the project involves
over 20,000 participants. In the
28 years it has been running,
significant trends in distribution,
migration and population have
been uncovered. The British
Trust of Ornithology and Cornell
University are the most solid
sources of good data that we have
to see early warnings of climate
change and population crashes.
John Humphreys, Pennsylvania

A question of morals
Fox hunting is a moral issue.
Class and politics are not the
reason people support the ban
its about animal welfare. When
the House of Commons voted for
the Hunting Act in 2004, it was
a landmark moment for animal
welfare. It drew a clear line in the
sand about what is acceptable
behaviour. Fox hunting should be

How does this

compare with your
garden feeder?

Features editor Ben Hoare

says: Its a kittiwake you can
tell by the dark eye smudge and
down-turned yellow beak. Its in
its winter plumage. Kittiwakes
spend their winter out at sea.

TW

Share pictures on our forum:

www.discoverwildlife.com

consigned to our history books,

and I implore our government
to resist pressure to repeal this
important legislation.
Dulcie Mae, Via email

Wolves in Britain?
Britain needs Wolves (January)?
No it doesnt! There are dozens
of reasons for not re-introducing
wolves in modern Britain, but
for those who promote the idea I
have one question. How can it be
acceptable to subject our largest
and most noble wild animal,
the red deer, to a harrowing

1 WE ASKED YOU...
WHICH WOULD
YOU SAVE?
5%
Ant

5%
Cyanobacteria

5%
Giant panda

5%
Soil mite

7%
Fruit bat

9%
Dung beetle

41%
Tiger
O Visit www.discoverwildlife.com
to see the results of the poll in full.

BBC Wildlife

45

YOUR FEEDBACK
death, chased to exhaustion
and then eaten alive? This is
surely immoral and I would think
unlawful in 21st-century Britain!
John B Wadsworth, Via email

much salt. But on p91 there was

an article about making your own
feeder using peanut butter, and
salt content wasnt mentioned!
Stanley Jackson, Lochcarron

Oh rats!

Editor Matt Swaine says: Sorry!

We got lots of emails about this
standard peanut butter is definitely
not suitable for birds.

Chris Packhams February

column talked about people trying
to get rid of rats in the garden.
I had rats living under my front
room. Pest control said that they
could produce up to 500 young
a year. What should I have done?
Linda Hall, Hunstanton
Environment editor James Fair
says: Poison is best avoided
because of its impact on wildlife.
Wed be keen to hear from other
readers about how they have
dealt with rats in their home.

In the February issue Chris

Packham says that only
economists and madmen think
continuous growth is possible.
Anyone who has studied bacteria
knows that populations grow, use
up their resources, then after a
brief stable period decline just as
dramatically. Such will be our fate
unless we learn to live modestly
and control our population.
David Armitage, York

Salty snacks
In your January issue there was
an advert for Flutter Butter, a
peanut butter for birds, because
the regular version contains too

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46

BBC Wildlife

Thanks for highlighting the

planned eradication of black
rats by RSPB Scotland on the
Shiant Isles (December). Black
rats have been in Britain for
over 1,000 years and this is our
last colony. The seabirds on the
island are doing well despite
the fact that the rats have been
present for over 100 years. The
rat population is limited by long
winters when food is scarce,
and shows no sign of spreading.
Even the RSPB website says
that the impact of these nonnatives is not fully known. Surely
such drastic action shouldnt be
undertaken. The 900,000 could
be better spent but it appears rats
are an easy target as they have
little public sympathy.
Peter Sattaur, Surrey

CHRISTMAS QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Hare (European), 2. Gecko (tokay),
3 Gannet (northern), 4. Macaque (Japanese),
5. Lemur (ring-tailed), 6. Stingray (blue-spotted
fantail), 7. Pelican (Dalmatian), 8. Cheetah,
9. Dragonfly (hairy)

CHRISTMAS QUIZ WINNER

Charlene Butler West Midlands

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WHAT IS YOUR
FAVOURITE WILDLIFE
CARTOON CHARACTER?
@practicalhappy
Chilly Willy.
Nigel Sims
Bambi.
@JanCherryJovi
The Road Runner. I
remember getting so excited
as a kid when we actually
saw one in the USA.
Nikki Robinson
Moro from Princess
Mononoke and Fox from The
Animals of Farthing Wood.
@KitSullivan11
I loved the Tasmanian
Devil, also known as Taz.
seanspetbird
I loved all of the
characters in The Animals
Of Farthing Wood, but
I guess that my favourite
was Mole.

@jcbnovo
Wile E Coyote.
Casey Humphreys
I really loved Secret
Squirrel and Oakie Doke.
@EmilyTeacups
Wacky Races Mutley.
clairebobble
Hazel from Watership
Down, though just thinking
about it makes me cry.
@sojopotter
Badger from The
Animals of Farthing Wood.
@Karl12x
Woody
Woodpecker (right)
ha ha ha HA ha!
llj203
It has to be Dory
from Finding Nemo!

GET INVOLVED What behaviour have you seen in

your garden this month? Send an email with the subject line
Garden Behaviour to [email protected]

UK Publishing Co-ordinator Eva Abramik

[email protected]; www.bbcworldwide.com/
uk--anz/ukpublishing.aspx

or in part without prior written permission of

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otherwise disposed of by way of trade at more than
the recommended retail price (subject to VAT in the
Republic of Ireland) or in mutilated condition.

PRICES
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Printed by William Gibbons Ltd.

BBC Wildlife champions ethical wildlife photography that

prioritises the welfare of animals and the environment.
It is committed to the faithful representation of nature,
free from excessive digital manipulation, and complete
honesty in captioning. Photographers, please support us
by disclosing all information including, but not restricted
to, use of bait, captive or habituated animals about the
circumstances under which your pictures were taken.
BBC Wildlife provides trusted, independent travel advice and
information that has been gathered without fear or favour.
We aim to provide options that cover a range of budgets and
reveal the positive and negative points of the locations we visit.
The views expressed in BBC Wildlife are those of the authors
and not necessarily those of the magazine or its publisher.
The publisher, editor and authors accept no responsibility
in respect of any products, goods or services that may
be advertised or referred to in this issue or for any errors,
omissions, mis-statements or mistakes in any such
advertisements or references.

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This magazine can be recycled, for use in
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All rights reserved. No part of BBC Wildlife may be
reproduced in any form or by any means either wholly

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Apr 12Mar 13
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March 2015

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Bacteria lessons

Easy target?

WE ASKED YOU...

Red alert for the Sumatran tiger. Fauna & Flora International launches emergency appeal
in response to 600% increase in poaching threat. Please respond by 20 March 2015.

This Critically Endangered tiger has been pushed to

the edge of extinction maybe 500 remain. Give to
stop the poachers at www.FFIsumatrantiger.org

A 600% increase in snares laid since 2011 has put

FFIs anti poaching team on red alert. Habitat loss
has already pushed the Sumatran tiger to the brink
of extinction but now poachers have stepped up
their efforts to snare these magnificent cats.
Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has put out an
urgent call to the global community to save the last
Sumatran tigers currently existing in the wild and
specifically to employ more rangers. There are now
only around 500 Sumatran tigers left.
FFI is urgently seeking funds to step up their crucial
conservation programme in Kerinci Seblat National
Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. In order to safeguard the
future existence of these magnificent creatures, it is
vital that more rangers are employed
Right now, the Sumatran tiger faces a number of
very serious threats, which are putting their very
survival in jeopardy. And, sadly, they are all
manmade threats.
Poaching is a constant danger for the elusive
Sumatran tiger and now poachers have substantially
stepped up their efforts. Hunters make good money
from the tigers beautiful skin and demand is constantly
growing. Also, its bones are illegally exported to use as
ingredients in traditional Asian medicines.
What is really worrying now is that poachers
have increased the number of tiger snares laid by
600% since 2011 and this year snares found have
been at almost record levels.
This is against a backdrop of a very serious loss of
habitat. In the last ten to 15 years, natural forest cover
in Sumatra has been slashed by almost a staggering
40%. Now there is a newly emerging threat in 2014,
discovered by tiger patrols - the growth of illegal coffee
plantations in Kerinci Seblat National Park.
These majestic forest dwellers have been
designated as Critically Endangered on the IUCN
Red List, making the Sumatran tiger one of the
most endangered tiger subspecies on the planet.
This is a rating reserved for animals that face an
extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Latest surveys have indicated that there may now be
as few as 500 existing in the wild. Kerinci Seblat
National Park is one of the last places on Earth where
they can still be found.
Today, 170 tigers live in and around Kerinci Seblat
National Park the largest known population of tigers
anywhere in Sumatra. Since 2007 the number of tigers
in the park has stabilised and begun to slowly grow
largely thanks to the vital work of FFIs Tiger
Protection and Conservation Programme. However,
now the upsurge in poaching puts these gains under
threat.
Debbie Martyr, FFI Team Leader of the Kerinci Tiger
Project in Sumatra, says:
So far this year our ranger teams walked almost
1100 miles on forest patrols in and bordering the
national park and destroyed more than 60 active tiger
snares - an increase of 600% since 2011. That is why we
need to step up patrol regimes.

83,131 is needed to help us fund more rangers and step up action against
the poachers in Kerinci Seblat National Park.
This is one of the final strongholds of the incredibly rare Sumatran tiger, a
place where the battle to save the Sumatran tiger will be won or lost.
FFIs work here could be all that stands between the Sumatran tiger and
extinction.
Tiger populations are dreadfully fragile.
If FFI cannot recruit more rangers to protect the
tigers against the increased efforts of the poachers all
our good work could be undone.
For all of these reasons, its now absolutely vital that
we increase our patrols to protect tigers from poachers
and work towards greater protection for their delicate
habitat.
If were going to save the Critically Endangered
Sumatran tiger from complete extinction, its vital that
we have the means to take action now.
FFI must raise 83,131. To do that, the charity is
calling on readers to make an urgent contribution
today.

Dear readers: Fauna & Flora International (FFI)

has launched an emergency appeal, backed by Sir
David Attenborough, to raise 83,131 to save the
Critically Endangered Sumatran tiger.
These items are vital to help save the remaining
Sumatran tigers from extinction.
5,212 could help fund two new rangers posts and
buy essential equipment rucksacks, uniforms,
cooking equipment, field radios and compasses.
2,500 could buy a pick-up van to help a patrol
move around quickly to prevent poaching.
400 could buy camping equipment and boots.
Photo: Gill Shaw

Photo: Euan Bowen-Jones/FFI

One of the Sumatran tigers final strongholds

is under threat from a massive increase in
poaching. Action is needed now

72 could buy first aid kits to treat injured rangers

whilst out on patrol.
32 could help buy a field radio, essential to getting
extra help if poachers are spotted.
Donations large or small will help us save the
Critically Endangered Sumatran tiger from the 600%
upsurge in the poaching threat.

Cut the coupon below and return it to FFI,

together with your gift, to help save the Critically
Endangered Sumatran tiger. Alternatively, go to
www.FFIsumatrantiger.org. Thank you.
If you value the natural world if you think it should be
protected for its own sake as well as humanitys then
please support Fauna & Flora International.
Sir David Attenborough, OM FRS
Fauna & Flora International vice-president
Please send a gift, by no later than 20 March 2015, to
help safeguard the future survival of the last few
remaining wild Sumatran tigers.
Together, we can save the Sumatran tiger from
extinction but only if we take action immediately.
To take action for the Sumatran tiger please go to
www.FFIsumatrantiger.org or cut the coupon.
If the coupon to the bottom right is missing, please
send your cheque (payable to FFI) to: FREEPOST
RRHG-GBGG-CAGG, Fauna & Flora International,
Sumatran Tiger Appeal, Jupiter House, Station Road,
Cambridge, CB1 2JD by 20 March 2015.
Stop press - Poachers kill Tiger in Kerinci
We knew this tiger, a large male. To see it reduced from
a beautiful wild animal to a pile of meat and guts made
us all very angry.
Yoan Dinata, Tiger Protection Team, Kerinci Seblat
Fauna & Flora International, founded in 1903, was the worlds first
international conservation organisation. Today its work spans the
globe, with over 140 projects in more than 40 countries. It has a
strong history of finding creative solutions to conservation problems
and of working with local communities. FFI is supported by the most
eminent scientists and members of the conservation movement.

I want to help save the

remaining 500 Sumatran
tigers today, with a donation of ____________
Title

Forename

Surname
Address

Postcode
Email
Phone No
I enclose a cheque payable to Fauna & Flora International OR
I wish to pay by credit/debit card
Type of card: Visa/Amex/Mastercard/Maestro/CAF (delete as appropriate)
Card No:
Start Date:

Expiry Date:

Issue Number :

3 digit security code:

(Maestro only)
(Last three digits next to the signature)
Please note: If Fauna & Flora International succeeds in raising more than 83,131 from this
appeal, funds will be used wherever they are most needed.

Please return to: Sumatran Tiger Appeal,

FREEPOST RRHG-GBGG-CAGG,
Fauna & Flora International, Jupiter House,
Station Road, Cambridge, CB1 2JD.
You can call 01223 431991 to donate now.
Or go to: www.FFIsumatrantiger.org to donate online.
Registered Charity No.1011102. Registered Company No. 2677068.

PR-STBW15

P H OTO
STO R Y

Land of the

Leopards
Russias newest national park is home to the last Amur leopards,
considered the worlds most endangered wild cat. Emmanuel Rondeau
is the first foreign photojournalist to report on the conservation effort.
48

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

Russias Land of the Leopard is a

2,600km2 national park that was opened
in 2012 to protect Endangered Siberian
tigers and Critically Endangered Amur
leopards. Nobody knows exactly how
many Amur leopards live in the park, but
the latest research suggests that this
male is one of about 50 individuals.

March 2015

BBC Wildlife

49

P H OTO
STO RY

The lack of people in a remote region may well have saved the
Amur leopard. In a relatively confined forest in the Russian
Far East there are thought to be only about 50 of these elusive
cats still clinging to existence the last of their kind on Earth.
One of the main reasons why a small population of
leopards has hung on here is that for many years it was
almost a no-mans land, on the border of North Korea and
China, says French photographer Emmanuel Rondeau. It
is very remote. Vladivostok, the economic heart of the region,
is two-and-a-half hours away, so very few people come here.
The Land of the Leopard National Park was established
three years ago and reports of a rise in population offered
hope of a change in fortunes, but Dale Miquelle, the director
of the Wildlife Conservation Societys Russia Program, is
sceptical: Im not convinced that there has been an increase.
Different approaches to counting give very different results.
The traditional method involves estimating populations from
paw prints, and suggests that as few as 20 leopards live in the
park. But recent camera-trap surveys identify individuals by
their unique spot pattern, and imply the figure is nearer 50.
No matter whether there has been an increase in leopard
numbers, the creation of the park has been a vital step in
improving the conservation of biodiversity in the region,
says Dale. It also means that there is more support for antipoaching groups, fire brigades and scientific monitoring.
This has been the most important conservation achievement
for Amur leopards in the past 25 years.
Both Siberian tigers and Amur leopards benefit from
the existence of the park, where they rely on the large local
population of sika deer for food. While Dale believes that
conflict between the two subspecies is limited, they both prey
on livestock. So conservation is as much about helping the
community to appreciate and live alongside these big cats
as it is about protecting the animals habitat.

PHOTOS BY
EMMANUEL RONDEAU
Emmanuel is a
photojournalist
who feels that
stories and images
play an important
role in changing peoples
values. Recent projects have
involved jaguars in Costa Rica
and the return of the lynx in
France: Big cats need big
spaces and healthy forests. If
we can learn to live with them,
then we can save everything.
www.emmanuelrondeau.com

50

BBC Wildlife

These schoolchildren on the

border of the national park are
learning how Amur leopards and
Siberian tigers contribute to a
healthy ecosystem. Their teacher
Natalia Drobysheva started this
programme of monthly ecology
lessons, and now works closely with
scientists and conservationists
from Land of the Leopard. The big
cats will not survive unless the local
people take pride in the fact that
they share the area with them.

THE LOCATION
Land of the
Leopard NP
RUSSIA

MONGOLIA
NORTH
KOREA

CHINA

SOUTH
KOREA

RUSSIAN FAR EAST

The Land of the Leopard
National Park is on the
border of North Korea and
China, a two-hour drive from
Vladivostok, at the end of the
Trans-Siberian railway. Amur
leopards used to live in China
and Korea too, but they are
now only found in the park.
The regions rich biodiversity
is due to the combination
of southern subtropical
forest and northern, more
temperate habitat.

March 2015

FAR LEFT This female

Amur leopard (left)
has three cubs (one of
which is at right) the
family is thought to
represent 8 per cent of
Earths wild population.
Camera-traps now
offer a more accurate
way to measure both
leopard numbers and
the success of any
conservation strategy.
LEFT This area also
has Russias highest
density of tigers a
print is pictured but
Dale Miquelle says that
there is sufficient prey
for both cats. Leopards
change their behaviour
to avoid confrontation
with these more
powerful predators.
March 2015

BBC Wildlife

51

P H OTO
STO RY

Leopards are solitary nocturnal

hunters; this big male was recorded
licking the camera-trap equipment.
We used to think that Amur leopards
maintained separate territories, but
recent research has shown that there
is a surprising amount of overlap.
This is good news for conservation
because it means that this area could
hold far more leopards than was
previously believed, which is vital in
order to maintain genetic diversity.

52

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

ABOVE Alexander
Lozovoy is a deer
farmer who loses five
animals a month to
leopards, out of a total
of 600. Conservation
charity The Phoenix
Fund gives farmers
$500 every month to
cover damages as long
as they have recorded
evidence that leopards
are present on their
land, hence the photo
on the laptops screen.
RIGHT Every year
The Phoenix Fund
and the Land of the
Leopard National Park
organise a big-cat
painting contest for
children to increase
local pride in these
incredible felines
the entries are often
accompanied by
a touching letter.
The winning pictures
appear in a calendar.

BBC Wildlife

53

P H OTO
STO RY

LEFT TOP Fires

started by people are
a significant problem
for Amur leopards.
Between 1996 and
2003, 46 per cent of
their potential habitat
in Russia was burned
at least once and up
to 22 per cent burned
each year. Frequent
fires transform
forested habitat into
empty grasslands.
LEFT Like many cats,
Amur leopards like
to walk on ridges and
high points, giving
them a good view of
the forest and helping
them to locate any
potential prey. This
image was taken less
than 2km from the
village of Barabash,
the location of the
national parks
headquarters.

54

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

+ FIND OUT MORE

See more incredible wildlife photos
and share your own images at
www.discoverwildlife.com

ABOVE Every month

these three schoolgirls
dress up to talk to
other children about
the threats that
Amur leopards face.
Local people use the
forests to source food
and firewood and to
supplement often
meagre incomes; this
can even involve killing
leopards and tigers.
LEFT Deer farming
is a vital business in
this part of Russia.
The 3m-high fences
around this farm keep
tigers out, but not
leopards. There is
nothing we can do,
explains the farmer.
They can jump over
the fences, or climb
an adjacent tree and
leap from there.

March 2015

BBC Wildlife

55

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Grasshopper: Robert Pickett; frog: Marcus Brent-Smith/crees-manu.org

The rainforest canopy

supports a vast biomass
of invertebrates. This
green grasshopper was
photographed 40m
above the ground in
Man National Park.

58

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

SCALING NEW

HEIGHTS
Perus rainforest canopy is one
of our most biodiverse but leaststudied habitats. Researchers
armed with the latest camera
technology are unlocking its
secrets to help protect this rich
ecosystem, reports Mike Unwin.

ts early evening in the Peruvian rainforest. At a

kitchen table in a jungle lodge a small group huddle
around a laptop in apprehensive silence, faces
illuminated by the screen. Outside, the orchestra of
insects and frogs ramps up the volume. Conservation
biologist Andy Whitworth scrolls intently through
the images. Nothing, nothing, nothing then, from
nowhere, a chunky primate barrels into view.
Coto mono! someone shouts the local name for
the Bolivian red howler monkey. The group, all from
the indigenous Machienga community, gasp and whoop
with delight, then crowd closer for another look. Rewind,
play: 16 flickering seconds of video reveal the animal
scrambling along a branch before leaping out of sight.
Cue more cheers. It was a big bonding moment, Andy
explains later. Imagine. Youve waited months to retrieve
the camera. Everybodys excited but all you can see are
waving branches. Your heart sinks. Then suddenly: bingo!
For the past three years Andy has been based in
Perus Man National Park masterminding Tree Top
Man. The project, directed by conservation NGO the
Crees Foundation, in partnership with the University of
Glasgow, monitors the wildlife of the tree canopy using
arboreal camera-traps. The project arose from Andys PhD
at Glasgow on the biodiversity and conservation value of
tropical regenerating (or secondary) forest, which aimed
to investigate whether this habitat is more important for
wildlife than was previously thought (see box, p60).
We all know that most
remaining tropical forest
is disturbed, says project
consultant Ross MacLeod,
one of Andys colleagues
Phyllomedusa
vaillantii, the whitelined leaf frog, is
one of the species
that was found
in the canopy.

March 2015

BBC Wildlife

59

Camera-traps
increase the
odds of spotting
well-camouflaged
species such as
the bicolouredspined porcupine
Coendou bicolor.

Macaw; Bertie Gregory/crees-manu.org; monkey: Sean Crane

/Minden/FLPA; weevil: Marcus Brent-Smith/crees-manu.org

WHY PRIMARY RAINFOREST

IS BETTER THAN SECONDARY

Top: the canopy

has most of the
nuts and fruits
needed by birds
such as this
scarlet macaw.
Above: the project
has shed new light
on primates such
as the Bolivian red
howler monkey.
Below: a host
of insects have
been recorded
too, including
this weevil.

at Glasgow. But how valuable is it for biodiversity?

In 2014 Andy set up 63 cameras across three study
sites: the first in primary forest at Limonal Guard Station
inside the park; the second at the Man Learning Centre,
where Crees manages a tract of regenerating forest; and
the third at Shipetiari, an area of hunted forest belonging
to the Machienga. It was at the last of these that the howler
monkey was filmed, providing locals with their first glimpse
for years of this charismatic primate within a hunted area.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA
The howler monkey was not alone. A further 17 species of
mammal appeared on Andys cameras during the project,
many not previously recorded in the study areas. The
majority were primates: as well as the howlers, black-faced
spider monkeys and Geoffroys
woolly monkeys both endangered
species were recorded in places
where they had long been thought extinct.
Spider monkeys are rarely seen in secondary
forest, explains Andy. Theyre very sensitive
and nervous. Secondary forest tends to be
dominated by smaller primates, such as
squirrel monkeys and tamarins, which
are not usually targeted for eating

Primary forest refers

to untouched forest in
its original condition.
Secondary, or regenerating,
forest is forest that has been
disturbed, usually by human
activity such as logging or
slash-and-burn agriculture.
Primary forest has a full
ceiling canopy, with several
layers of understorey below
and an emergent layer of
large tree crowns protruding
above. The ground is
generally clear of heavy
vegetation because very
little light can penetrate.

In contrast secondary
forest has a less developed
canopy structure, with only
a few scattered large trees.
More light reaches the
floor, supporting vigorous
ground vegetation often
dominated by secondarygrowth species such as
bamboo, wild bananas and
wild gingers that move
in after the disturbance.
Biodiversity is greater in
primary forest, and includes
many animals and plants
that may be rare or nonexistent in secondary forests.

so the discovery of these larger species has been a revelation.

Weve been detecting primates in hunted areas where even
experienced biologists thought theyd gone, Ross confirms.
The kinkajou and night monkey, nocturnal species
almost impossible to monitor at ground level, were both
recorded from over half of the trees in 2014. The cameras
also picked up several cryptic species, including the
bicoloured-spined porcupine and Hoffmanns two-toed
sloth, which are so camouflaged that they generally evade
detection at any level. Best of all was a silky anteater at the
Man Learning Centre the first recorded from the site.
In addition to mammals, some 13 avian species were
spotted including guans (turkey-like tree-living birds)
and macaws. Reptiles, meanwhile, included a tropical
thornytail iguana, an exclusively arboreal lizard little
known to science that performed its exuberant headbobbing territorial dance for the camera.
March 2015

MAN RAINFOREST
Man Learning Centre
is both a lodge and
Crees base in the park.

animals free movement high above the forest floor. Some

of these trees including the giant kapoks, or ceibas, that
Andy favours tower more than 60m tall (see p62).
Its gruelling, nerve-racking work. Swinging from a
rope 30m up, let alone lugging 4050kg of kit through
sweltering rainforest, is not every research scientists cup
of tea. Andy once worked on building sites, but he still
needed specialist training so he spoke to the expert.

CLIMBING TREES: THE NEXT LEVEL

Porcupine: Art Wolf/SPL; centre & Andy: crees-manu.org

ITS NERVE-RACKING
WORK. SWINGING FROM
A ROPE 30M UP IS NOT
EVERY SCIENTISTS
CUP OF TEA.

Enough data was logged to start

comparing the different types of
forest. Kinkajous, for instance,
were recorded on 12 per cent of
days in undisturbed forest, and
4 per cent in disturbed forest.
Night monkeys, by contrast, were
recorded on 3.5 per cent of days in
undisturbed forest but 9 per cent
in hunted forest, suggesting that
for some species this habitat may even offer advantages.
Ross says that the proven presence of the larger
monkey species in secondary forest has clear implications
for conservation management: these animals are key
indicator species in helping determine where the park
puts its resources. But the logistics behind the data are
daunting. While camera-traps have long been used to
monitor rainforest
wildlife on the ground,
High hopes: Andy
takes to the treetops
nothing like this
this tree is 38m tall.
has previously been
attempted in the
canopy. The simple
hybrid cameras
which shoot both still
images and video, and
are triggered by infrared motion sensors
overlook arboreal
highways, where a
spaghetti junction
of branches allows
March 2015

James Aldred has pioneered canopy-climbing techniques

he has been responsible for hoisting David Attenborough
into the treetops several times, ever since his 2002
BBC One series The Life of Mammals. It was among the
sycamores of Mugdock Country Park, near Glasgow, that
James taught Andy his skills. People underestimate how
demanding it is, explains James. You get back from a
climbing expedition and theres nothing left of you.
The first challenge is to choose a suitable healthy tree by
scanning from the ground in search of rotten branches. At
present Andys camera trees stand about 0.51km apart,
but the pattern is quite arbitrary. Right now we dont know
the methodology, he explains. It took people 20 years to
figure out that for jaguars at ground level you need 3km
spacing. For us its been just three years of trial work.
To set up the system, Andy secures a fine line over a
robust U-shaped branch by firing a lead weight from a
powerful standing catapult. He then hoists up the two
100m climbing ropes and sets a safety anchor below, over
which a ground crew presides. Once in the canopy he uses
straps to fix the cameras in place; generally one at 2530m
and one lower down at 1012m. The last task is to flick the
on switch: I once came back four months later to find the
damn thing hadnt been turned on, recalls Andy wryly.
Perils include angry bees, fatigue and dehydration and
Andy has even dislodged a pit viper that tumbled from the
understorey onto the support crew. But once the cameras
are in position, and the team has departed to leave the
canopy in peace, the rewards begin slowly to arrive. Its
a waiting game, says James. The wildlife comes to you.
Four months later Andy is up the tree again to remove
the cameras. You can never help having a quick peek while
youre still swinging from the tree, just to check whether
youve got anything, he confesses. Back at camp the team
download and view all of the images. Not every camera gets
results, but in 2014 two-thirds of them captured something.
To date the most important finding from Tree Top
BBC Wildlife

61

FOREST GIANTS:
EMERGENT TREES
Emergents are the tallest rainforest
trees, the highest branches of which
spread out like umbrellas to form a
separate sunlit layer above the rest
of the canopy. Most are broadleaved,
hardwood evergreens, with waxy
leaves that offer protection against the
searing hot midday sun. They include
species such as the kapok and brazil
nut, which may exceed 60m in height
and 5m in trunk diameter.
The broad branches of these
forest giants support many other
plants, including ferns, vines, orchids
and other epiphytes. They are also
home to myriad rainforest animals,
from monkeys and sloths to birds
such as macaws and harpy eagles.
Emergents are vital to the wellbeing
of a mature rainforest: their flowers
and fruits support many species,
including insects and hummingbirds,
that pollinate plants throughout
the forest and, together with strong
winds above the exposed canopy,
help to disperse their seeds.

Kapok trees grow as tall

as 70m, while their trunks
can reach 3m in diameter
its no wonder that they
support countless animal
and plant species.

FOUR SPECIES CAUGHT ON CAMERA

BLACK-FACED SPIDER MONKEY

BOLIVIAN RED HOWLER

WHITE-FRONTED CAPUCHIN

WHITE HAWK
62

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

MAN RAINFOREST
Harpy eagles use giant
emergent trees for
nesting and perching
to look for prey.

Clockwise from top left: Frans Lemmens/Getty; Pete Oxford/NPL;

Tui De Roy/Minden/FLPA; Alamy; A Whitworth/crees-manu.org x4

Kinkajous nocturnal
relatives of coatis and
raccoons are easily
monitored by canopy
camera-traps, yet virtually
invisible at ground level.

Man has been simply that the animals are still there.
But the arboreal cameras have also opened a new window
into animal behaviour.
Among the revelations is that spider monkeys, which
were thought to be diurnal, are also active at night,
especially mothers nursing young. Meanwhile howler,
woolly and spider monkeys have all exhibited behaviour
being less vocal, and feeding at different hours that
suggests they have adapted to life in hunted areas by
acting less conspicuously. The study has established that
spider monkeys, for example, become active at about
4am, reach a peak of morning activity at 6am, fall into a
lull around 12pm, and rouse themselves mid-afternoon
to reach the days activity high at around 5pm, just
before nightfall. This is valuable

EYES IN THE SKY

Since 2011 scientists in
Indonesia have been using
drones (right) to help
them protect orangutans.
The small, unmanned
aircraft each fitted with a
GPS-guided autopilot and
video camera fly low over
the canopy, locating the
treetop nests of orangutans
and identifying new areas
of slash-and-burn farming.
Drones fly below the layer
of cloud cover that often
inhibits satellite imagery,
and are much cheaper
and can fly much lower
March 2015

than more
traditional,
piloted
reconnaissance
aircraft. Similar projects
are planned for forestconservation programmes
elsewhere, including
monitoring chimpanzees in
Africa. However, these flying
eyes cannot see everything.
Drones are very useful in
monitoring forest structure
and locating larger objects
high up, but they cant get
inside the canopy, says
Andy Whitworth.

information for scientists wishing to study them or

paying tourists wanting a glimpse.
The involvement of local people has been critical to the
success of all of the foundations work at Man. Andy cites
the importance of moments such as watching that howler
monkey on video. Not only is it important for us to see
their excitement, he stresses. Its also important for
them to see ours. This creates a huge sense of pride. He
believes that there are many misconceptions about how
indigenous communities regard the forest. Hunters still
love their forest, he asserts. They look after the great big
trees, and log it only when really needed.

THIS YEAR ANDY IS

COVERING TWICE
AS MANY TREES
WITH TWICE AS
MANY CAMERAS.

COMMUNITY BACKING

This April James Aldred will visit Man

to train local research assistants in
canopy climbing, while the Tree Top
Man team is learning important skills
from locals. Andys boat driver Willie
Maonte is an expert in evaluating which
trees are safe to climb, while Peruvian
field assistant Ruthmery Huarcaya,
whose research has focused on woolly
monkeys, also contributes impressive botanical knowledge.
Ecotourism plays its part as well. The cultural zone
of secondary forest around the park is already home to
several lodges. Being able to run part of Tree Top Man
at a local community ecotourism lodge is awesome,
says Crees founder Quinn Meyer. It not only
provides great revenue for the community,
but also gives them a real understanding of
what is happening in their forest.
Its no wonder that Tree Top Man has entered 2015 with
renewed vigour. This year Andy is covering twice as many
trees with twice as many cameras, while also exploring new
levels of the canopy and adding another hunted site to the
project portfolio. New targets include arboreal predators
such as the margay, a small spotted cat, and threatened
terrestrial gamebirds that roost in trees, such as curassows,
while specialist biologists will arrive to investigate arboreal
butterflies. With technology developing rapidly, Andy is
also looking for ways of monitoring arboreal
camera-traps without the necessity of actually
+ FIND OUT MORE
climbing trees. It seems that for Tree Top
Tree Top Man is supported by the
Man, the skys the limit.
Crees Foundation and the University
of Glasgow. See images and video
from the cameras and find out how
you can visit at www.treetopmanu.
com and www.crees-manu.org

MIKE UNWIN is a naturalist and travel writer.

His many books include Southern African
Wildlife (Bradt Travel Guides).
BBC Wildlife

63

COMPLEMENTS

SHARED
PLANET
BROADCAST ON

BIRDS of
GOOD FORTUNE
Photos by Axel Gomille

64

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

Demoiselle cranes arrive

in their thousands at
the village of Khichan in
Rajasthan, north-east India.

Villagers in Rajasthan rejoice in the

huge flocks of demoiselle cranes that
visit each winter, feeding, protecting
and venerating them. Derek Niemann
investigates how culture and religion
can play a vital part in conservation.
March 2015

BBC Wildlife

65

The villagers
of Khichan have
been feeding
demoiselle cranes
for four decades.

t may be the worlds biggest, most well-mannered

and least likely bird table. The daily arrival of up to
15,000 wetland birds in the middle of a desert village
has become one of northern Indias great wildlife
spectacles. But when dawn breaks, there are no
tourists, no hotels and no birds in sleepy Khichan.
Photographer Axel Gomille has travelled across the
Thar Desert by rickshaw in darkness to reach Khichan for
sunrise. He arrives at a fenced enclosure of hard-baked
earth about the size of a football pitch, where he sees a
man in a bright red turban dragging a large sack into the
enclosure. The man opens the bag and begins scattering
grain on the bare earth, before going back for one sack
after another. This is birdfeeding on an industrial scale.
Everyone hears the cranes coming. The locals refer
to them as kurja and Nepalis call them karyang karung,
both representations of the harsh bugling cries that
fill the air before the birds are even visible. There is
a special phrase for the first view of the demoiselle
cranes maala chari, a garland of string, describing
the great V-formation flocks.
When the squadrons of birds arrive, they queue up and
wait on the sand dunes nearby, and
drink from the village ponds, says
Gomille. So long as there is someone
inside the enclosure, they wont go
in. But as soon as he leaves, they land
inside. There is space for a couple of
hundred cranes at a time. When they
take off, the next 200 come in.
The slender birds are crammed
together in the enclosure, grey-bodied
and with smart white combovers on
black heads which swivel in unison.

KHICHANERS PUT
OUT STAGGERING
QUANTITIES OF GRAIN
FOR THE DEMOISELLE
CRANES: SOME 1,500
5,000KG DAILY.
66

BBC Wildlife

A wildlife paradise right next to the bus stop, marvels

Gomille. It takes maybe two or three hours until the
whole flock are fed. Then they go to nearby ponds to
drink and rest on the dunes, waiting for the heat of the
day when the thermals start to form. They fly higher and
higher until they are little dots in the sky, and are gone.
I dont see them again until the next day.

A 40YEAR TRADITION
Both birds and people have become accustomed to enacting
this great performance day after day, every day between the
end of November and the middle of March. What began
about 40 years ago, when villager Ratan Lal started feeding
a few cranes in his back yard, has grown into an enormous
operation. Khichaners now put out staggering quantities
of grain an estimated 1,5005,000kg daily.
The numbers of cranes visiting this desert location in

A man scatters grain

for the cranes, pursued
by pigeons the bigger
birds fly down when he
has left the enclosure.

DEMOISELLE CRANES

CRANE MIGRATION
This map shows migratory routes of demoiselle
cranes, and the small resident populations that
exist in north-west Africa and eastern Turkey.

EUROPE

Black Sea
population

ASIA

Kazakhstan/
Central Asia
population

Kalmykia
population

2
Anatolia
population
(resident)

1
Dalainor NR
Xianghai NR

Kurgaldzhin NR

Black
Sea
Mediterranean
Sea

Eastern Asia
population

Zhalong NR

Caspian
Sea

3
Khichan village

River Nile

AFRICA

4
Breeding
range

Indian subcontinent

Upper Nile
River Basin

Winter
range

Indian Ocean

Southerly
migration

5
NR

The three eastern breeding

populations in Kalmykia,
Kazakhstan/Central Asia and
Eastern Asia each consist of tens of
thousands of birds, which nest in dry
steppe grassland often near water.

It is a different picture farther

west, where fewer than 500
pairs of cranes now breed around
the Black Sea. This population is
fast declining due to agricultural
intensification and hunting.

Two small, non-migratory

populations are classed as
Critically Endangered: a Turkish one

in Anatolia, and another in the Atlas

Mountains in north-west Africa.

Eastern cranes migrate south to

the Indian subcontinent for the
winter, flying at over 8,000m to cross
the Himalaya. In winter they use a
wide range of habitats including lakes,
rivers, marshes, ponds, fields and
stubble left over after rice harvests
even deserts, if water is nearby.

Black Sea breeders migrate via

the Middle East to a wintering
range in Sudan and Ethiopia. Here
the birds frequent savannah,
grasslands and riverside habitats.
The sound of cranes taking
flight is a mix of beating
wings, bending feathers
and constant calls.

March 2015

Based on information from the International

Crane Foundation (www.savingcranes.org)

Atlas Mountains
population (resident)

Nature
reserve

Rajasthan has built up over the years. Migrating flocks

of demoiselle cranes occur practically all over India, so
Khichan was always on their natural migratory route, says
Gopi Sundar of the International Crane Foundation (see
box, above). It seems that parent birds began by bringing
their chicks in tow, then their young did the same with their
offspring, and so on. Also, since the food source at Khichan
has been relatively stable for several decades, other cranes in
this flocking species have learned to fly to the village, too.
Khichan is far from wealthy, so for local people to actively
encourage cranes is remarkable. In fact several areas in
India are notable for their tolerance of wildlife and lack of
persecution, Sundar points out. Its most welcome that
so many people do not harm wildlife, even with species
such as cranes that can cause obvious damage to crops. The
reasons seem to stem from a deep-rooted belief system in
rural areas, which dies out in an urban environment.

BIRDFEEDING ON A NATIONAL SCALE

There is a long tradition of birdfeeding in India. The
great handouts of grain at Khichan mirror a similar
practice adopted on a smaller scale by thousands of
people in the countryside, who feed birds that visit
their front yards and rooftops, says Sundar. Peafowl,
partridges, pigeons, parakeets, pheasants and even a rare
owl or two are all cared for. Perhaps the basic impulse is
simply that these are lovely birds, so they must be fed.
All the indications are that religion is fuelling good
deeds in this village. Khichan is a Jain community and its
residents consider the demoiselle cranes to be holy, says
Gomille. Its a perfect example of how wildlife can benefit
from religious beliefs. The people do the birds good, and
believe that the practice will in turn do them good, too.
Jainism is an ancient religion that teaches concern
BBC Wildlife

67

for all life, but it could be that there is another explanation

for the Jainists generosity. Belief in reincarnation is
widespread in India, so perhaps it is a form of life after
death insurance policy, whereby good deeds will be
recouped in the next life. This way of thinking is stated
explicitly on an information board at Rajasthans worldfamous Bharatpur nature reserve. Referring to a related
waterbird, the Critically Endangered Siberian crane, the
sign reads: In your next incarnation you might be an
endangered species. Help us save the Siberian crane.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Marie Antoinette dubbed the

birds demoiselles when the
cranes were brought from
Russia to the French court
and the name stuck.

The self-interested philanthropy at Khichan does not

come cheap. Octogenarian Sevaram Malli Parihar
organises the whole community to help feed the birds
and maintain the fences, which keep out feral dogs
and children who might otherwise chase the birds,
but these are poor people who cannot afford the grain
themselves. So who pays? Some of the worlds wealthiest
industrialists are themselves Jains with family roots in
the villages of the Thar Desert, and it is they who are
sending money home to pay for crane food.
The villagers are clear-sighted about the science of what
they are doing. When all this started, it might have seemed
like a miracle. Out of nowhere, thousands of birds suddenly
appeared in the skies, says Gomille. But thats not the
case now. Even an illiterate man or woman knows a great
deal about the cranes and
where they come
from, because
people have
told them.
Opinions
differ as to
whether there

SPIRITUAL CONSERVATION
Four more examples of faith fighting for wildlife.

WAT PHAI LOM

TEMPLE, THAILAND

The fragile coral reefs off the

island of Misali were under threat
when local Muslim fishermen
began using guns and dynamite
to boost their catches, ignoring
government regulations. They only
stopped when Care International
worked with the communitys
religious leaders to show the
fishermen how Islamic teachings
emphasise the importance of
protecting the environment.

In 1970 a Buddhist temple near

Bangkok became the countrys
last refuge for the Asian openbill
stork. The monks agreed to the
grounds of the Wat Phai Lom
temple becoming a nature reserve,
protecting the bird from hunters.
The species flourished a peak
population of 30,000 may have
constituted South-East Asias
biggest breeding colony. It has now
spread to other parts of Thailand.

68

BBC Wildlife

BUABENGFIEMA
MONKEY SANCTUARY,
GHANA
Almost all of Ghanas 240 forest
reserves contain sacred groves
treasured by local communities
as the homes of their gods and
the ancient burial grounds of their
ancestors. A striking example
is at Buabeng-Fiema Monkey
Sanctuary, where black-and-white
colobus and Lowes Mona monkeys
are perceived as children of the
gods and given special protection.

LITTLE CAMPBELL
RIVER, CANADA
On the degraded Little Campbell
River, south of Vancouver,
volunteers from the Christian
conservation organisation A Rocha
Canada are working to restore
the spawning grounds of Pacific
salmon and other threatened
species of fish. They work with First
Nation communities, landowners
and local government to raise
awareness of the importance of
the river to local communities.
March 2015

Zanizibar: P Oxford/NPL; Wat Phai Lom: N Supagrit/Alamy;

monkey: REX; salmon: Superstock; Japan: Reuters/Corbis

MISALI ISLAND,
ZANZIBAR

CRANE FEEDING
AROUND THE
WORLD
Feeding cranes doesnt just
happen in India its a global
phenomenon. In the USA, for
example, a few nature reserves
located along the migratory
routes of sandhill cranes grow
diversionary plants specially for
the birds, in order to keep them
away from any agricultural crops.
And in Japan about 90 per cent
of the global population of
hooded cranes flocks to one
artificial feeding site at Izumi in
the south, while red-crowned
cranes use another artificial
_
site in Hokkaido in the north.

are direct tangible benefits to the species or the village itself.

It is difficult to say whether the artificial feeding has any
conservation merit, says Sundar. The demoiselle crane
is the third most abundant crane species in the world, so
it may not actually need conservation interventions by
way of supplementary feeding.
In fact the birds are at risk of catching diseases when
they congregate artificially in a rural setting theoretically.
To date there have not been any outbreaks among the
gatherings of cranes, reveals Sundar. This suggests that
while the threat potentially exists, it is very low.
In any case, it is unlikely that the cranes are consuming
enough grain to meet their entire dietary requirements at
Khichan alone. They still flock to the surrounding fields
to feed. Several villagers have expressed their concern
that more and more crops are being eaten by the birds
over the years, admits Sundar. And with no hotels or
other tourist infrastructure whatsoever, the villagers
are gaining no material boost from their labour.
That the cranes appear at all is something of a twiceyearly miracle. The chicks are raised in the dry steppe
grasslands of Central Asia and then the families migrate
south to India together in October. Rajendra Suwal of
WWF-Nepal, who has been counting the cranes on
migration for over 20 years, is fond of reciting a simple
Nepali rhyme about the birds, linked to the growing year.
The rough translation: In spring, the cranes arrive, sow
cucumbers and pumpkins. In autumn, the cranes arrive,
eat cucumbers and pumpkins.

THE TRIALS OF FLIGHT

Suwal observes these graceful migrants on the most
perilous part of their journey their passage over the
snow-clad Himalaya. The ideal for these birds is to fly
high using thermals, he says. But in adverse conditions,
such as strong wind, rain or blizzards, they are forced
to travel lower and in stages, stopping in fields and
on riverbanks. Here they are at risk from hunters and
opportunistic small boys armed with sticks.
There are natural predators waiting, too: golden eagles.
One autumn, cameraman Barrie Britton accompanied
March 2015

WITH NO HOTELS
OR OTHER TOURIST
INFRASTRUCTURE,
THE VILLAGERS
ARE GAINING NO
MATERIAL BOOST
FROM THEIR LABOUR.
Suwal to the dramatic valley that lies in the shadow of
Above left:
demoiselle
the giant mountain Annapurna to film this spectacle
cranes migrate
for the BBC One series Planet Earth. The passage of
as a family group,
young cranes provides an unlikely autumn bonanza for
helping to pass
the eagles, says Britton. Though demoiselle cranes
on the route to
juvenile birds.
are fairly small by the standards of their family, with a
Above: these
wingspan of 1.61.8m, they are still relatively large birds
conservationists,
for a raptor to target in mid-air. Its incredible to see the
in protective
eagles hunting such big birds.
suits, were
By the end of February, after around three months of
photographed at
Izumi in 2010
feeding cranes, Sevaram and his fellow Khichaners will not
a hooded crane
need to carry on much longer. In just a few weeks the birds
had been found
will depart and head north for the Himalaya once more.
with bird flu.
Benign air currents mean the northward flight is easier.
Springtime is dry and hot, so thermals of rising air build up
with help from warm air from the Rajasthan Desert and the
Indian plains, says Suwal. The cranes take advantage of
these thermals to gain altitude and speed
them on their way.
+ FIND OUT MORE
When the trumpeting flocks depart,
Shared Planet has discussed the
Khichan falls silent again. And villagers
relationship between religion and
nature you can listen to the episode at
in Nepal will look to the skies, see those
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bqws7
graceful fliers high overhead and know
that it is pumpkin time.
See more of Axels photos
DEREK NIEMANN is an author and
conservationist who writes for the
Guardians Country Diary.

at www.discoverwildlife.
com. His book India: Land
of Tigers and Temples is out
now (RRP 24.99, John Beaufoy Publishing).

BBC Wildlife

69

Photos by Nick Upton

Everyone loves Ratty, but the water

vole is Britains fastest-declining
mammal. Now a triple whammy
releases of captive-bred voles, habitat
restoration and control of American
mink are helping it to recolonise
former haunts. Amy-Jane Beer reports.

RIVERBANK

SURVIVOR
70

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

Remote shot of a water vole

at the edge of a large pond
near Bude in north Cornwall
the creation of a breeding
colony here means that
the species is now back
in every English county.

March 2015

BBC Wildlife

71

here are two things almost everyone knows

about water voles. First, that Ratty in Kenneth
Grahames celebrated The Wind in the Willows
was one, and second, that they are in trouble.
A survey in 198990 suggested that British
water voles had declined steeply, but worse
was to come: the decline accelerated in the
1990s, with 88 per cent of the remaining population
lost in just seven years.
Given the grim statistics, its understandable that
conservationists relied heavily on a popular fictional
icon to publicise the species plight. We were reminded
endlessly that this disappearing native inspired a literary
treasure, but at times the nostalgic image of Ratty seemed
so powerful that his real-life alter ego was almost eclipsed.
I probably wasnt the only young wildlife enthusiast to
form an impression that water voles were some kind of
halcyon indicator species, requiring sparkling clear streams
with a Pre-Raphaelite fringe of bankside vegetation that
simply didnt exist outside of a few carefully managed idylls.
Fortunately, however, ecologists were proving otherwise.
Change to freshwater environments was a factor in
particular the overgrazing of waterside vegetation and
canalisation, whereby watercourses were straightened
and natural banks replaced by hard structures. But water
voles are far from pernickety. Habitat degradation and
loss were not their only problems.
For a species already under pressure, the arrival of
a devastatingly effective alien predator was almost the
final blow. Farmed American mink, bred for their fur,
escaped or were released into the countryside with
appalling regularity, and easily surpassed the combined
toll taken by native predators such as pike, barn owls,
grey herons and foxes.
By the 1990s mink seemed to be everywhere, and the
few vole populations that remained in naturally protected
72

BBC Wildlife

Return of the
native: a water
vole swims
across a river
after being
released at a
reintroduction
near Bude.

areas were isolated. Once they have been cut off, even
quite large populations are vulnerable to extinction by
relatively mundane or chance events such as changes
in land management or a bad winter.

SIGNS OF HOPE
However, there are signs that the tide is beginning to turn.
In 2014 water voles were once again breeding in every
county in England, mirroring the landmark achieved by
otters three years previously. The full house was achieved
by the creation of a breeding colony on Bude Marshes in
north Cornwall, which is thought to have lost its last native
water voles in the mid-1990s. What has changed since
then not only in Cornwall but across much of Britain
is a widespread programme of habitat restoration, plus a
hardening of resolve to tackle the threat of mink.
Early water vole reintroductions didnt always go well,
with failures almost invariably linked to predation by
mink sometimes just a single passing rogue individual.
More success was achieved at the Wildfowl and Wetland
Trusts London Wetland Centre in 2001. Surrounded by
urban development next to the River Thames, the sites
isolation means that it is easy to keep mink-free, but also
that the voles have little opportunity for dispersal.
Derek Gow captive-bred the water voles for the London
release in a special facility at his
farm in Devon, and now rears them
by the thousand for reintroductions
across the country (see box, p73). He
believes that large, landscape-scale
approaches are critical: Tackling
the entire length of a watercourse
and all of the connecting tributaries
from high ground to lowlands
is usually the only way to guard
against re-encroachment by mink.

FOR A SPECIES ALREADY

UNDER PRESSURE,
THE ARRIVAL OF THE
MINK WAS ALMOST
THE FINAL BLOW.

March 2015

WATER VOLES
BREED AND RELEASE:
THE VOLE STORY
The water voles that Derek Gow bred for release in
Cornwall are descended from stock captured around
Wiltshire and Somerset, while those destined for the
Trossachs are of Scottish ancestry. The rearing facilities
are spacious pens with swimming water, and artificial
banks in which young voles learn to burrow and construct
nests. The mammals are fed rabbit food, apples, carrots
and cabbage, and gnaw pieces of wood to keep their teeth
healthy. When the time comes, soft-release cages are
sited on banks and left for a few days so that the voles can
acclimatise. Then a baffle is fitted, with an opening small
enough to exclude predators but large enough to allow
the voles to leave of their own volition. Alternatively the
animals are hard-released directly into the water.

Above: Westland
Countryside
Stewards John
Duncan and Teagen
Hill fit a baffle
board to a cage.
Left and right:
the Derek Gow
Consultancys
Lynda Rennie
prepares the voles
food while Rebecca
Northey decides
which animals
to pair up.

Since the London project, reintroduction efforts

have steadily become more ambitious. For instance, in
200305 several hundred voles were released to boost the
fragmented population on the Chichester Plain in West
Sussex. Another scheme, launched in 2008, aimed to end
the species 30-year absence from Loch Ard Forest in the
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Today,
following extensive habitat restoration and mink control,
the reintroduced vole population there has dispersed
to areas over 30km from the original release site.
More recently, the huge artificial lake of Rutland
Water (together with its extensive complex of connected
watercourses) became functionally mink-free and home to
almost 1,000 reintroduced voles. It is hoped that these will
soon begin spreading into surrounding river catchments.
By 2011, only one English country still lacked water
voles. The Cornish challenge was taken up by a small
charity, Westland Countryside Stewards (WCS), founded
by local businessman John Duncan. John knew that
Bude Marshes was the site of the last known water vole
records in the country, and that an Environment Agency
March 2015

flood-alleviation scheme had since created a large area of

potentially ideal water vole habitat. The only problem was
that the marshes lay within what was thought to be one
of the most mink-infested catchments in the region.

This individual
on a Cornish
riverbank has only
just left its softrelease cage.

MINKFREE ZONE
But when the WCS team began monitoring the area, they
found no evidence that mink remained. The local mink
farm closed in 2000, and with no water voles left to
eat and a resurgent otter population to give them
a hard time it seemed that the remaining feral
mink had dwindled away. People did ask if we
were sure that the monitoring was being done
properly, says John. So it was a relief when
two mink finally showed up and were captured
within a day of detection.
John and his team of volunteers released
540 of Dereks voles in the summers of 2013
and 2014. The monitoring of mink and voles
is ongoing here, but the scale of
the project means that the new
BBC Wildlife

73

WATER VOLES NOW THRIVE

ON SPEYSIDE, DEESIDE
AND DONSIDE. LAST YEAR
WAS A GREAT ONE, WITH
MANY SITES RECORDING
SPECTACULAR NUMBERS.

WATER VOLES
UNWANTED ALIENS:
MINK IN BRITAIN
Before 2000, American mink routinely escaped or were
released from UK fur farms into the wider countryside,
where they tend to be closely associated with water.
The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust developed a
method for monitoring these feral mink using floating
rafts. A short tunnel on each raft contains a clay bed
that records the footprints of passing animals. When
the tracks of inquisitive mink are detected, cage traps
are deployed and checked by experienced individuals
trained to dispatch the captured mink with a single shot.
Anecdotal evidence of declining mink numbers in some
areas may relate to the closure of fur farms and pressure
from otters, which are now found in every English county.
This mink was spotted
at RSPB Greylake on
the Somerset Levels.

population should be robust. Water voles can now be

spotted easily from numerous publicly accessible areas
of the marsh. Its tremendously satisfying, says John.
Reintroduction is not always necessary, however. Xavier
Lambin of Aberdeen University has been harnessing
community effort on a grand scale for the Scottish Mink
Initiative an ambitious scheme to support a natural
recovery of water voles across a swath of Scotland, including
much of the Cairngorms National Park. (These are voles
of the chocolate brown or black form, which in Britain are
found only in Scotland, and which Derek also breeds
separately from the brown ones, of course.)
It takes six hours to drive from one end of the 20,000km2
project area to the other, and the participants come from all
walks of life, including ecologists from conservation NGOs;
gillies from game estates; academics; reserve managers;
and teachers and children from local schools.
The approach has been a roll-out of mink control,
sweeping downstream from the upland headwaters where
mink were few and far between, and relict populations of
voles had managed to hold on. The mink-trapping rafts,
which catch the invasive mustelids alive to be humanely
dispatched (see box, above), are checked by both local
volunteers and professionals. It was quite easy to clear
mink from the headwater areas, Xavier recalls. But then
we came to the lower reaches of river catchments. Here
we had to decide between simply trying to hold the line or
being more ambitious and starting to deal with mink at
source, in the areas where they are born.
Xavier and his team chose the latter option: Many of our
volunteers were travelling upstream to target mink, from
their communities in mostly lowland areas. So we decided
to press on and finish the job in their neighbourhoods as
well. Why not try to give water voles back to the people?
March 2015

Above: a water
vole eats some
flowering grass.
Left: a captive
reared water
vole is checked
before release
on Bude Marshes.

Not everyone believed it could be done. Derek Gow, for

one, admits to being a doubter. Xavier kept banging on
about community involvement, he says. To be perfectly
frank, some of us were dismissive. But he was absolutely
right. It has proved absolutely critical.

BOOM AND BUST

Water voles now thrive on Speyside, Deeside and Donside.
Last year was a great one for the voles, with many sites
recording spectacular numbers. The booming population
may even be evidence of naturally cyclical population
growth an ecological phenomenon of boom followed by
bust, seen in related species such as lemmings but never
scientifically documented in water voles.
However, some lowland parts of the extensive project
area have yet to be recolonised. This may happen naturally
over 10 years or so, but theres the possibility of deliberate
translocations too. In the natural process of dispersal,
individual water voles travel to a new
area, stay a few days and if boys dont
find girls they move on, says Xavier.
Travelling repeatedly is hard, but, being
short-lived animals, they have no time to
lose. If we release nucleus populations at
key locations to intercept the dispersing
voles, we can accelerate this process.
The perilous business of dispersal
has been fictionalised by another
ecologist, Tom Moorhouse of Oxford
Universitys Wildlife Conservation

XAVIER LAMBIN HAS

BEEN HARNESSING
COMMUNITY EFFORT
ON A GRAND SCALE
FOR THE SCOTTISH
MINK INITIATIVE.

BBC Wildlife

75

WATER VOLES

This dark-haired
water vole has
been bred for
reintroduction
in Scotland.

A sight for sore eyes: a

female water vole swims
across a Wiltshire stream
towards her nest with a
mouthful of grasses.

SURVEYING VOLES:
HOW YOU CAN HELP
For the first time, a survey aims to standardise and
integrate water vole monitoring across Britain. The
National Water Vole Monitoring Programme will be
administered by the Peoples Trust for Endangered
Species (PTES), which has run a similar, highly
successful scheme for dormice for 25 years (see the
feature in our August 2014 issue). The new project
will use data from the 198990 and 19968 surveys
as a baseline, and include additional sites where
monitoring has subsequently taken place. PTES is
looking for volunteers to revisit the original survey
locations in May each year. If you are interested in
registering for a site, please visit www.ptes.org/
watervoles or email [email protected].
Daniella Siddall of the
Derek Gow Consultancy
inspects a burrow in Bude.

ON BUDE MARSHES,
AND ACROSS MUCH
OF BRITAIN, THERE IS
MASSES OF POTENTIAL
HABITAT AND MINK
MAY BE IN RETREAT.
+ FIND OUT MORE
l Watch Nick
Uptons footage
of water voles, and
learn how to see
them for yourself,
at www.discover
wildlife.com/
british-wildlife
A Life
With
met a water vole
warrior in Essex
in 2012 listen
online at http://
bbc.in/1JkGqlT
l Join the Scottish
Mink Initiative at
www.scottish
mink.org.uk

76

BBC Wildlife

Research Unit, in his River Singers novels for children.

Meanwhile his scientific publications have clarified the
kind of habitat needed for reintroductions on Thames
headwaters and elsewhere to succeed.
Species reintroduction is a deceptively simple concept,
says Tom. You have animals, you have habitat just put
them together. But it doesnt work like that. Captive animals
have different experiences to wild ones, factors influencing
a species decline might still be present, and so on.
Much of Toms study focuses on the width of the
vegetation growing beside the water. Where this strip
is less than 3m wide, it offers meagre protection from
predators reintroduced males in particular move on
quickly. Where the strip is bigger, voles tend to settle,
and survival and population density increase.
So what of the future? We now know that water voles can
live in rivers, ditches, farm ponds,
fishing lakes, mires, drainage
systems, wet meadows and exposed
soggy uplands. On Bude Marshes,
and across much of Britain, there
is masses of potential habitat and
mink may be in retreat.

NO ROOM FOR COMPLACENCY

Even so, we cant take things for

granted. Flood-prevention plans could
be a threat as well as an opportunity,
and the interests of aquatic wildlife
including water voles ought to be taken into account.
Nevertheless, theres reason for optimism at last. We
cant say that the species will ever be common in the way
it once was, but the outlook is rosy, says Derek Gow.
Where people are willing to participate, recovery is
both achievable and sustainable. But Tom Moorhouse
emphasises that where mink eradication is concerned, its
all or nothing. Defending isolated patches is something
we would have to do for ever, and if that effort ever
declined or money ran out, mink would soon be back.
Once youve made the difficult, horrible decision to cull,
you have a duty to do it well and thoroughly.
However, he believes that national mink eradication is
possible: Its expensive, but still probably only a fraction
of the cost of a new fighter jet. Water voles are now so
well studied that we know exactly what we need to do.
AMY-JANE BEER is a naturalist and author: www.wildstory.
co.uk. This feature is dedicated to Rob Strachan, a hero of
water vole conservation who died tragically young last May.

March 2015

OUR
EXPERTS
RICHARD
JONES
is a writer and
entomologist
with a fondness
for dung beetles.

STUART
BLACKMAN
is a science
writer who is
mildly obsessed
with evolution.

MIKE TOMS

DISCOVER

WILDLIFE
MORE AMAZING FACTS AT DISCOVERWILDLIFE.COM

is an author
and associate
director at the
British Trust
for Ornithology.

KAREN EMSLIE

The small pearlbordered fritillary is

struggling in England,
but widespread in
Wales and Scotland.

is a science and
nature writer
with a penchant
for the curious
and quirky.

BEN GARROD
is an evolutionary
biologist who
specialises in
both primates
and skeletons.

INSECTS

Anne Sefton Via email

Ross Hoddinott/naturepl.com

Whats the insect

equivalent of blood?
A The body cavity of insects, containing
the essential organs, is bathed in a liquid
called haemolymph, which is only vaguely
analogous to blood. In vertebrates, blood is
mainly associated with carrying oxygen to the
tissues and removing carbon dioxide, but
haemolymph contains no respiratory
compounds like haemoglobin.
Instead gas exchange occurs
directly between the tissues
and minute breathing ducts
(trachea), which thread through
each segment of the body.
The main purpose of
haemolymph is to transport nutrients
around the insects body. A rudimentary
pumping circulation system takes the liquid
from a sump in the abdomen through one-way
pores, and into a muscular vessel running along
the back of the insect. Inconsistently sometimes
called the heart at the rear and the aorta near
the front, this tubular conduit moves the blood
forwards, where it floods out into the head
capsule before permeating its way back to
the main body cavity again. Richard Jones
March 2015

EMAIL YOUR
QUESTIONS TO

wildquestions@
immediate.co.uk
or post to Q&A, BBC Wildlife
Magazine, Immediate Media
Company, 2nd Floor, Tower House,
Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BN

BBC Wildlife

79

DISCOVER WILDLIFE
A tube web spider
Segestria florentina in
a defensive posture
note the green fangs.

3
THINGS YOU NEVER
KNEW ABOUT THE...

Grass snake

SIZE AND SCALES

Regularly exceeding 1m in
length, the grass snake is
our biggest native terrestrial
reptile. Only the introduced
Aesculapian snake, which
now breeds in London and
North Wales, grows larger.

ARACHNIDS

COLDBLOODED KILLER

Do spiders have teeth

as well as fangs?

Grass snakes feed mostly on

toads, frogs and newts, but
also take small mammals,
fish and, occasionally,
birds. They cannot digest
their meal if the temperature
drops below 5C.

A Like those of other arthropods, the mouth

parts of spiders derive from primitive, ancestral
limb-like structures. Where legs and pedipalps
(feelers analogous to insect antennae) still have
several jointed segments, spider chelicerae are
reduced to two portions, the basal block and
the jack-knife fangs. All spiders (except those
in the obscure family Uloboridae) inject venom
through the hollow fangs to kill their prey,
which includes enzymes that start to liquidise

Lacking venom, grass

snakes defend themselves
by exuding a foul-smelling
secretion from their anal
glands. They also hiss and
feign strikes at attackers, and
as a last resort play dead.
Stuart Blackman

BIRDS

Jennifer Campbell Via email

Is it normal for a
pheasant nest to
have over 20 eggs?

the food. The resulting pre-digested gloop is

sucked up through the mouth orifice, between
the chelicerae. Though some grinding occurs
here, teeth dont really come into it.
In insects, however, the jaws are each reduced
to a single triangular (or tetrahedral) segment;
they hinge at the outer rear corners and meet
each other like the blades of scissors. The tips
and inner edges of the jaws are often armed
with teeth for slicing, cutting or grinding. RJ

EMPTY THREATS

+ Visit www.discoverwildlife.
com to find out more.

A pheasant at the nest

on a Yorkshire moor
cross your fingers that
nothing goes wrong.

From top: Andy Sands/naturepl.com; DK Images; Peter J Hatcher/Alamy

A pheasant usually produces a clutch of

815 eggs, laid in a simple scrape lined with
grass and a few leaves. Nests containing more
eggs than this will be the work of two females.
The eggs colour can tip you off: they are olivebrown or olive-blue, with the precise shade
varying between individual females.
Pheasants make bad mothers. They lay
eggs in several places, abandon a clutch with
little provocation or fail to recognise their
own nest. They may even use the nests of
other species, typically ducks or partridges.
Incubation does not begin until the last egg
has been laid, so there is time for two females
to lay eggs in the same scrape. Mike Toms
80

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

D I N O S A U R S Ken Stewart Via email

How did plant-eating dinosaurs

with tiny heads and enormous
bodies find enough food to eat?
A Our modern ecosystem with its diverse
flora only supports one really enormous
land animal, the elephant. Yet millions of
years ago, even in some harsh and semi-arid
environments, multiple species of gigantic
plant-eating dinosaurs (many of which
would dwarf an elephant) co-existed. These
herbivores, with their massive bodies and
comparatively tiny heads, needed to consume
vast amounts of food to survive.
Researchers from Bristol Universitys
School of Earth Sciences and the Natural

History Museum believe that they did so by

evolving skull and jaw adaptations optimised
for particular diets. This ensured that different
dinosaurs were not competing for the same
plant material. For example some dinosaurs,
such as Camarasaurus, had a strong jaw
and bite which could chomp through tough
leaves and branches, while others, such as
Diplodocus, had weaker bites and delicate
skulls more suited to ferns and soft leaves.
This way there was enough food to go around
even for the biggest species. Karen Emslie

The big herbivores such

as this Diplodocus had
different diets, reducing
competition for food.

WHERE CAN I SEE...

From top: M Boulton/Photoshot;
Andrew Parkinson/naturepl.com

GOLDEN ORIOLE

Karpas Peninsula,
North Cyprus
A passage migrant in March
and April, the golden oriole is
returning from Africa to breed
in Europe. The handsome male
has a bright yellow body, but
his wings and tail are black.

March 2015

DHOLE

Pench NP, India

One of Asias overlooked
predators, the dhole
or Indian wild dog is
increasingly rare and hard
to find. Pench the setting
for The Jungle Book is a
good place for sightings.

KEMPS RIDLEY TURTLE

Rancho Nuevo, Mexico

3
This is the worlds smallest
marine turtle, as well as one of
the rarest. The species is mainly
confined to the Gulf of Mexico
95 per cent of its nesting beaches
are on the east coast of Mexico in
the state of Tamaulipas.

BBC Wildlife

81

GARDENING

Build a house

How do I
garden to attract
nesting birds?

Gardens dont usually have much

standing dead wood, so nestboxes
offer an alternative for cavitynesting species. However, these
birds all have different requirements
(see box, below left), so start with
two different-sized boxes at either
end of your garden.

A Gardens occupy about 10 per cent of

available land area in the UK, and as such
provide significant habitat for many birds
about 30 per cent of blackbirds breed in
human-occupied sites, for example, says Carl
Barimore, nest-record scheme organiser for
the BTO. We all love feeding our birds, but
with simple bird-friendly garden management
you can also create lots of places for them
to nest. In return youll gain a much greater
understanding of bird behaviour, as well
as helping declining species such as house
sparrows and starlings. Here are our top tips
to create some prime avian real estate.

Think thick

Include dense deciduous

species such as hawthorn,
blackthorn and sea buckthorn
the prickles make ideal cover
for species that nest later in
the season, such as finches.

OSee www.discoverwildlife.com for more advice.

4
BIRDS NESTBOXES
AND WHERE THEY SHOULD BE LOCATED

Garden illustration by Stuart Jackson-Carter; tit, martin & starling:

Chris Shields/Minden/FLPA; flycatcher: Mike Langman/rspb-images.com

GREAT TIT

Requires a small nestbox with a

28mm hole, 15m high (for blue
tits, use a 25mm hole). Ensure it
is protected from the elements,
is angled down to keep the rain
out and has a clear flightpath.

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

Occasionally nests in openfronted nestboxes, as do pied

wagtails and robins, 24m high
with clear views. For robins, site
in vegetation; for pied wagtails,
near the lawn up to 5m high.

STARLING

Needs a medium-sized nestbox

with a 45mm hole, sited 2.5m
off the ground. Great spotted
woodpeckers will use the samesized box with a 50mm hole
placed 35m above the ground.

HOUSEMARTIN

Nests colonially in the eaves.

Encourage them to get
started by positioning two or
three specialised housemartin
boxes along one wall
of your house.

+ For more details about the needs of different box-nesting

species, visit www.bto.org/about-birds/nnbw/nesting-birds

82

BBC Wildlife

Ivy league
English ivy is an evergreen, so
provides brilliant early-season
nesting opportunities for robins,
dunnocks, blackbirds and
wrens. It is fast-growing and
will cling to a trellis, wall or tree
trunk. Other climbers such as
honeysuckle and clematis also
provide good nesting foliage.

Use your walls

Siting a shrub beside a wall will
encourage hedgerow-dwelling
species such as finches to nest
they will be attracted by the
added shelter and cover.

March 2015

DISCOVER WILDLIFE
Q
Plant a tree

B I O L O GY

Does anything
live in clouds?

Small trees such as fruit

trees or a sycamore offer
great nesting opportunities.
Blackbirds may nest in forks in
the branches, and goldfinches
in the outer canopy.

Keep it messy

A Clouds especially icy, turbulent storm

clouds are hostile environments, and
its unlikely that anything specialises in
living in them. But clouds owe their very
existence, in part, to biological organisms.
Many bacteria and marine algae release a
chemical called dimethyl sulphide, which
seeds the formation of water droplets in the
atmosphere. Scientists have even managed to
identify the gene responsible for producing
dimethyl sulphide you might say its a
gene for weather! Its an important piece of
evidence supporting James Lovelocks Gaia
theory, that the Earth functions as a selfregulating super-organism. SB
Migrating birds, such as
these whooper swans,
may avoid clouds.
Ben Hall/rspb-images.com

Be mindful when tidying

during early spring robins
or dunnocks may be nesting
in piles of leaves. And some
species nest as late as August,
so delay the summer pruning.

P R I M AT E S

Do all primates
have colour vision?

Check the shed

Wrens nest in all sorts of
cavities and ledges be
wary of lodgers in plant
pots and on shelving.

Seek to hide

Boost the brambles

Unsightly they may be, but
brambles and scrambling
shrubs such as dog rose
are much sought-after by
blackcaps and other species
that nest low in scrub.

A Among mammals, only primates and

marsupials have colour vision (trichromatism).
Within the primates, however, the adaptation
varies. South American night monkeys (below),
for instance, can no longer see in colour, while
Old World monkeys and apes can detect the
full range. New World monkeys and some
lemurs are even polymorphic trichromats,
meaning the ability to see in full colour is
split within the species: some females can see
red, green and blue (the primary colours for
light), but the vision of others and males (the
dichromats) peaks at green and blue.
Studies have shown that trichromats
are better at spotting red and orange
fruits, but dichromats are
thought to have the advantage
when light is low or fruits are
camouflaged. With many
South American primates
foraging co-operatively,
this split in visual ability
seems to improve
feeding success.
Ben Garrod

Luiz Claudio Marigo/naturepl.com

In early spring, when deciduous

trees and shrubs are not in leaf,
early nesters such as robins
and blackbirds will build a home
anywhere that provides good
cover, so introduce evergreens
such as holly or conifers.

March 2015

Lucy Turner Via email

DISCOVER WILDLIFE
Q

W I L D L I F E M YS T E R Y

B I R D S Ed Deaver Via email

Do optical illusions
work on animals?

What is the precise

difference between
a song and a call?

Animals and humans can be

bamboozled by similar illusions.
For example, hummingbirds cannot
maintain a stationary hover at a flower
presented against a rolling striped
pattern, which gives the birds a false
impression of movement. There is
evidence that zebras stripes have a
similar effect on predators, causing

them to mistime their final lunge for

the target, while male great bowerbirds
deploy an optical illusion to impress
females. They decorate their bowers
with bones, shells and stones in size
order smallest at the front, largest
at the back to give the impression
that they are all the same size. It also
makes the bower appear smaller than
it actually is, which in turn makes the
male look bigger. SB

Though tiny,
male wrens are
very loud singers.

Illustrations by Alan Batley; zebra: Anup Shah/NPL

HOW
TO

MAKE YOUR OWN

FOOTPRINT
TRAP
Use a footprint trap to find
out which mammals visit
your garden during the night.
84

BBC Wildlife

1 Fold a large square of

poster board three ways
and make holes along
the outer edges.

2 Tape white paper

onto the middle section,
and put bait such as wet
dog food in the centre.

3 Daub non-toxic poster

paint mixed with oil on
cloth/greaseproof paper
at the ends as ink pads.

4 Tie the top together

using cable ties, and
check the paper in the
morning for any prints.

March 2015

Mark Hamblin

A zebras stripes
may save it when
a hunter attacks.

The division of bird vocalisations

into songs and calls is long-standing
and widespread, despite difficulties with
definitions and assigning vocalisations to
one category or the other. In general, a call is
a vocalisation of short duration that is simple
in its structure and as likely to be uttered
by a female as a male. In contrast, a song
tends to be more complex in its structure,
of longer duration and is usually uttered
by a breeding-age male.
Calls are typically produced under
particular circumstances (during courtship or
aggression, say, or in response to the sighting
of a predator), and a species may have a
vocabulary that is made up of a number of
different calls. Many small birds, for example,
have a dozen or more recognisable calls. Calls,
being short and simple in structure, convey
only a small amount of information. But
complex song carries more content, and is
primarily used by males to identify territorial
ownership and to signal information about the
singer, at least some of which may influence
his chances of attracting
a mate. Some
calls, such as the
twit-tw-oooo of the
tawny owl, have
the same purpose
as songs, underlining
the problems with
the definitions we
sometimes use. MT

Jaguar: M & P Fogden/Minden/FLPA; osprey: Michael Durham/FLPA; turtles: Elena Tyapkina/Alamy; reef: Pascal Kobeh/naturepl.com

RESPONSIBLE

WILDLIFE
TRAVEL
GUIDE 2015

March 2015

BBC Wildlife

85

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

TRAVEL SPECIAL

From top: Espen Bergersen/NPL; Kristel Richard/NPL

Watching a killer whale

in Norway check the
philosophy of any travel
company before you book.

How to be a responsible
wildlife traveller
Unfortunately
there is no single,
globally accepted
code of conduct for
responsible wildlife
tourism travellers
themselves need to
take responsibility.
Here are some
guidelines.

BUY THE
BOOK
Peter
Lynch
is the
author of Wildlife
and Conservation
Volunteering
(13.99, Bradt).

March 2015

Take pictures, leave

only footprints

A healthy, safe environment is

at the heart of all responsible
wildlife travel, so always take
home everything you take
with you including batteries,
plastic bags and bottles.

Ivory looks better

on an elephant

Never be tempted to buy

wildlife souvenirs. Dont be
persuaded that the creature
is already dead and therefore
it does no harm. Buying it
will both fuel future
trade and
encourage
sellers to
capture or
kill more
animals.
Tours should be
led by qualified,
proven experts.

Keep wildlife wild

Wild animals are not pets

so dont pet or feed them, or
encourage them to behave
in an unnatural way. Dont
support organisations that
bait sites to attract animals
this can be dangerous for
local people if wildlife learn to
associate humans with food.

1RDQLPDOVHOHV

Dont have photographs

taken posing with a wild
animal. Many of these
animals have been taken from
the wild and their mothers
killed. They may be drugged,
harshly trained or have their
teeth removed to ensure they
behave around tourists.

Its no fun for them

Avoid wild animal

entertainments such as riding
elephants for fun. These
animals are often captured

from the wild, inadequately

cared for and usually trained
using inappropriate and cruel
methods. If its not natural
behaviour, its probably cruel.

Local people are the

best conservationists

Show respect for local people

and their culture. Use local
providers so money from your
trip benefits communities.

Check reputations

Ask questions about the

reputation of any potential
travel supplier, and check
out their code of conduct for
wildlife and the environment.

Take expert advice

If visiting a key wildlife

habitat, for example a turtle
nesting beach, go with a
trained guide. They will be able
to ensure both your safety and
the welfare of the animals.
BBC Wildlife

87

Top wildlife
conservation
holidays
See more wildlife, learn some new skills and
contribute to the survival of rare species and
threatened habitats with these holidays.

Sumatran tigers SUMATRA INDONESIA

This holiday focuses on the Sumatran tiger. Volunteers are
based in the Rimbang Baling Wildlife Reserve where they
explore, set camera-traps, and look for tracks, kills, scats
and the animals themselves. You work with local people to
create incentives for tiger
conservation in an effort
to mitigate humanwildlife
conflict and ensure the survival
of this amazing big cat.
CONSERVATION VALUE Wellmanaged areas with effective
tiger patrols where local
communities benefit from
You can help the
the presence of tigers.
Critically Endangered
Sumatran tiger.

+ www.biosphereexpeditions.org

Scientific and dive

training will enable
you to get the most
from your trip.

Jaguar conservation COSTA RICA

This project is based in the Tortuguero National
Park, surrounded by protected rainforest and the
Caribbean Sea. Volunteers search for signs of jaguars
and their prey species, monitor feeding behaviour
and population numbers, use remote cameras to identify
individuals and plot their range. Surveys are also made of the
26km turtle nesting beach, because jaguars regularly hunt here.
This creates a dilemma for naturalists at Tortuguero because
jaguars have learnt to prey on the endangered green turtle.
CONSERVATION VALUE Data is used by the Costa Rican Ministry
of Environment to develop conservation policies.

+ www.gvi.co.uk/programs/jaguar-conservation-costa-rica

Tracking dolphins ADRIATIC SEA SLOVENIA

Each morning volunteers split into two groups one heads
out on the boat and the other staffs an observation point
on land. Both teams observe dolphins and in the afternoon
trade stations. You get to scan the sea for dolphins and
document numbers, GPS location, size and behaviour (such as feeding
or travelling). Environmental data is gathered at sea, and dolphins are
photographed and identified from dorsal-fin markings.
CONSERVATION VALUE Making the Adriatic Sea safer for the recently
discovered resident dolphin population.

+ http://eu.earthwatch.org/expeditions/tracking-dolphins-

Reef surveys and community

MADAGASCAR
Based in Andavadoaka, south-west Madagascar, this
marine project integrates scientific research with
support for coastal communities with sea-cucumber
and seaweed-farming initiatives; environmental
education for local children; and reproductive health services for
adults. Volunteers dive five days a week on the Indian Oceans
most extensive coral reefs recording fish and benthic transect
data, and surveying new reef sites. There is an intensive two-week
scientific-training programme and PADI training if necessary.
CONSERVATION VALUE Protecting biodiversity and benefiting
coastal people so that they become conservation champions.

+ http://blueventures.org/expeditions/madagascar

88

BBC Wildlife

This population of dolphins

has only recently been
discovered in the Adriatic.

March 2015

Clockwise from top: N Garbutt/NPL; wilddaysconservation.org; G Lacz/FLPA;

M Durham/FLPA; T Houlton/Alamy; Alamy; P Kobeh/NPL; E Giesbers/NPL (captive)

in-the-adriatic-sea

TRAVEL SPECIAL
Big cat care
& rehabilitation
BOLIVIA

A wide range of
UK conservation
breaks are available.

Helping British wildlife UK

The jaguars of
Costa Rica need
your support.

You dont have to travel overseas to carry out fieldwork

that makes a real difference to wildlife just sign
up for a conservation holiday in the UK. Discover
evidence of animals in the wild, spot their tracks, and
identify physical evidence such as scratch marks and scats. Learn
remote-camera and live-trapping techniques, and how to handle
small mammals safely. Find out how conservationists work and
study reptiles, mammals, birds, bugs and marine life with top UK
conservation organisations.
CONSERVATION VALUE Helping people get in touch with nature
and investigate issues related to sustainability as well as the UKs
sadly diminishing biodiversity.

+ http://wilddaysconservation.org

The three Inti Wara

Yassi parks care for
over 430 species, but
with an emphasis
on wild felines. The parks were
primarily set up to house and
rehabilitate animals rescued from
the illegal wildlife trade, most of
which are in poor health. This is a
hands-on care project for animals
saved from abuse or death. Sadly
the majority cannot be returned
to the wild, because the habitats
needed by larger species are
constantly shrinking.
CONSERVATION VALUE
Conserving native biodiversity.

+ www.intiwarayassi.org

Help feline
victims of the
wildlife trade.

Loggerhead turtle protection

CAPE VERDE
Primarily based on the island of Sal, SOS Tartarugas is
a small NGO dedicated to the hands-on protection of
nesting loggerhead turtles, which works with the Cape
Verdean government. In partnership with rangers, volunteers patrol
and clear beaches of hazardous debris; guard turtles while they nest;
remove vulnerable eggs to a hatchery; map nesting sites; and assist
with guided walks
and local education
This project has had
a real impact on the
programmes. They
number of hatchlings.
also get involved in
the release of illegally
captured turtles and
young hatchlings.
CONSERVATION
VALUE The work
of the project has
dramatically reduced
loggerhead turtles
illegal slaughter
and capture, and
enabled thousands
of vulnerable eggs
to hatch safely.

+ www.sostartarugas.
org/SOSTartarugas

March 2015

The ospreys of
Scotland need you!

Awesome ospreys SCOTLAND

Operation Osprey is a project based at RSPB Loch
Garten, Abernethy, involving 24-hour surveillance of
breeding ospreys. Project volunteers work in pairs on
shifts, including a night shift in a hide from 10pm to 8am
while eggs are being hatched. They also help with visitors in the
information centre, updating them with information on the ospreys,
answering questions and encouraging people to support the work
of the RSPB. Food and lodging are provided, and out-of-pocket
expenses may be paid.
CONSERVATION VALUE Eggs, chicks and adult ospreys are protected
from theft and disturbance, enabling species numbers to recover.

+ www.rspb.org.uk/joinandhelp/volunteering/
296-residential-volunteer-operation-osprey/
BBC Wildlife

89

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

THE GREAT PROJECTS

Responsible or sustainable tourism is an emerging field, and
The Great Projects ethos is one that completely complements it.

conic orangutans, once widespread

throughout the majority of SouthEast Asias lush rainforests, are
facing a critical crisis, with consistent
threats to their livelihood, such as
deforestation, palm oil extraction
and illegal hunting for the pet trade,
causing major problems throughout
the majority of their range.
As one of our closest relatives,
the orangutan (or man of the forest
as they are otherwise known) is
one of the planets most distinctive
and beloved animals. Native to
Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans
are currently only found in the
rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra.
The most arboreal of the great
apes; there are sadly now thought
to be only 45 - 69,000 (wwf.panda.
org) wild orangutan remaining, with
many experts arguing that these
beautiful animals (both Bornean and
their Sumatran counterparts) could
become extinct in as little as twenty
five years.

Fortunately, there are companies

and charities completely dedicated
to reversing this trend and help in
the rescue and rehabilitation of
these men of the forest one of
mankinds closest relatives. These
include companies like The Great
Projects - a unique company that are
operating on the fringes of the travel
market. Responsible or sustainable
tourism is an emerging field, and
their ethos is one that completely
complements it - particularly with
regards to orangutan conservation
on their founding project, the Great
Orangutan Project and the Orangutan
and Tribes Voluntour both situated
in the stunning destination of Sarawak
in Malaysian Borneo. These unique
one of a kind projects offer volunteers
the chance to really get stuck in with
ongoing orangutan conservation work
and maintenance of both the Matang
and Semenggoh Wildlife Centres
in Kuching.
Not only will you be able to help

Shockingly,
orangutans
could become
extinct in as
little as twenty
five years

out with vital orangutan conservation

work on both of these trips, but as
a volunteer you will also be working
towards the rehabilitation of these
magnificent apes an incredible
experience that will remain with
you for many, many years to come.
Volunteers are completely immersed
into the heart of the conservation
initiatives whilst on these projects,
working to create vital sources of
enrichment and improving general
husbandry standards for not only
orangutans, but also the sun bears,
gharials and clouded leopards resident
at the Matang Wildlife Centre.
Whats more, volunteers will also
get the chance to explore the stunning
destination of Sarawak in Malaysian
Borneo throughout the Orangutan
and Tribes Voluntour. Incorporating
the intrepid destinations of Bako
and Batang Ai National Parks, where
travellers are able to be completely
engrossed into local tribal life, with the
chance to work alongside orangutans

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

support the Matang Wildlife Centre

and the orangutans resident within it.
With an overall aim and ethos to
really help as an integral part of wildlife
conservation, the unique opportunities
offered by The Great Projects are
second to none. Enquire today to start
planning your trip of a lifetime and
aid orangutan conservation in the
beautiful Bornean destination
of Sarawak.

The Great Projects offers travellers the

chance to join The Great Orangutan
Project and the Orangutan and Tribes
Voluntour in Sarawak, Malaysia from only
1095 per person. For more details, please
visit www.thegreatprojects.com or call
them on +44(0)208 885 4987.

IMAGES: OWEN HUW MORGAN

at the Matang and Semenggoh Wildlife

Centres - this eco-tour really is a
one of a kind adventure. What better
way to combine Sarawaks iconic
attractions with a taster
of volunteering?
Additionally, as volunteers are
so vital to the conservation work,
The Great Projects pledges that for
every booking made, they will donate
up to a third of the cost directly to
the projects themselves and the
charity partners with which they are
associated. Donations are built into
the price of each individual project,
and much of that has gone on to help

 [ ] [^

ZZ
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_ 
_Z[^WW
X]^
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Image Paul Goldstein, Exodus Travels

IMAGES: WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

BOTSWANA
Making safaris better protecting landscapes
without compromising experiences

co-tourism has always

been a priority for Botswana.
From before Independence
when the first of its National Parks
was designated, right up to
today, when every company with
accommodation works towards
obtaining ecotourism certification.
Carefully considered, sustainably
built camps and lodges, ensure that
the pristine landscapes are protected
and can be shared by natural
inhabitants and visiting guests.
With many conservation projects
managing the wildlife, and legislation
policies against hunting and poaching,
this is one of the most ecologically
managed countries in Africa, providing
a safe haven for wildlife, including
elephant and rhino.
Botswana has six distinct
landscapes. In the beautiful waterways
of the Okavango Delta is the lushness
of vegetation which supports
extraordinary numbers of birds and
animals. The dry parched savannah
of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve

provides a habitat for the many

antelope always on constant watch
for the big cats, lion and cheetah, who
are on the look-out for their next meal.
The moon-scape of the Makgadikgadi
- the largest salt pans in Africa provide
a contrast. Here, sunsets and the night
sky appear to stretch across the whole
horizon. The Chobe National Park,
usually the first stop for visitors to
Botswana, provides an opportunity to
get acclimatized and to see the many
elephant that frequent the Chobe
River which flows along Botswanas
northern border and eventually over
Victoria Falls. The rough and rocky
terrain of the Northern Tuli Game
Reserve provides an opportunity for
many activities, including night drive
safaris which are not allowed in some
of the other national parks. Finally,
the sand dunes of the Kalagadi Game
Reserve, one of the most remote and
challenging areas, and home to the
rare black maned lion, recently made
accessible by the development of
two small lodges.

MAIN IMAGE:

Aerial view of
Elephants in the
Okavango Delta
in Botswana
TOP RIGHT:

Black-maned
lion in desert
portrait,
Kalahari
MIDDLE RIGHT:

Zebras in The
Great Salt Pans
Makgadikgadi
and Nxai
Botswana

Low volume tourism is the norm,

so a Botswana safari is perfect for
families, couples and photographers.
Seeing the wildlife in its natural habitat
with no one else around will ensure
that your holiday will provide the
long lasting memories and individual
experiences that dreams are made of.
Even better, once the trip is paid for,
there are very few additional costs.
Typically, all accommodation, food,
beverages, transfers and activities
are included in the price. And with no
shopping malls in the bush, locally
crafted souvenirs and your memories
are all you will want to take home.
Botswana making safaris better
protecting landscapes without
compromising experiences.

BOTSWANA
www.botswanatourism.org.uk

Namibia
TAILOR-MADE HOLIDAYS & GROUP TOURS
Call a Rainbow Tours Africa specialist
today and start planning your journey

020 7666 1250

www.rainbowtours.co.uk

AFRICA | MADAGASCAR | LATIN AMERICA | INDIA

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

CAMERA TRAPS REVEAL

BIODIVERSITY SECRETS
Conservation charity Rainforest Concern, uses camera traps to
collect valuable information on the long-term health of existing
reserves and the recovery of newly acquired forest

he charity has found camera

traps essential for surveying
species. At Nasampulli Reserve,
an araucaria (monkey puzzle tree)
forest in Chile, camera traps were used
to help conduct a baseline biodiversity
survey. More recently, four more
camera traps were installed at sites
around the Reserve to monitor the
remarkable biodiversity. The camera
traps have revealed more wildlife than
was expected, capturing puma, guigna
cat, pudu and culpeo foxes.
In Costa Rica, the camera trap at
Pacuare Reserve provided exciting
evidence of something the team
knew was there, but had never seen: a
jaguar and cub was caught in its lens
Rainforest Concern also find
camera traps to be useful in fighting
deforestation. The Neblina Reserve
in Ecuador is situated in the southern
part of the ChocoAndean corridor.
This region, a global biodiversity
hotspot, is threatened with
deforestation from agriculture, mining,
illegal logging and road building.

Roads open up previously inaccessible

areas of forest, leading to increased
deforestation from agriculture
or logging.
At Neblina, camera traps help
provide important evidence of the rich
biodiversity of the area, evidence that
can be used to prevent the proposed
road building.

A BIGGER PICTURE
But camera traps are only part
of the story. Rainforest Concern
was established in 1993 to protect
threatened natural habitats, the
biodiversity they contain and the
indigenous people who depend on
them. Methods of land conservation
include registration of ancestral
indigenous territories, creation
of private reserves through land
purchase, land titling for local
communities and monitoring and
patrolling by forest wardens.
The work of wardens is important
to protect the expanding Neblina
Reserve: they regularly patrol to check

MAIN IMAGE:

Winter in
Nasampulli: a
guigna walks
through the
snow
TOP RIGHT:

A female jaguar
captured in the
camera trap

for any sign of hunting, illegal logging

or cattle grazing. They update land
maps, and explain the importance of
the forests.
And other activities need to be
carried out to guarantee long-term
success of projects. Rainforest
Concern implements alternative
income projects and environmental
education for local communities.
These are crucial in raising awareness
and improving quality of life, thereby
relieving the threat of deforestation
both within the reserve and outside it.
Rainforest Concern is currently
raising funds to create a forested
connection from Nasampulli
Reserve, to Huequehue National
Park, to protect this threatened
natural habitat.

RAINFOREST CONCERN
To donate, please visit
rainforestconcern.org/donate_now/
or call 01225 481151.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

ECOTOURS

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CONSERVATION
with Conservation

Biologists, Wildlife
Researchers & Naturalists
Joint-venture conservation safaris with wildlife charities enable
you to personally contribute to the sustainable future of
endangered species whilst enjoying an all-encompassing safari
in wonderful destinations. Each is led by the conservation
biologists and directors who actually run the programmes
out in the field, connecting you directly with the day to day
operations, the key field officers, and the community-based
initiatives that work to mitigate human-animal conflict.

Wolves, 7 16 November 2015

with Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme led by
Prof. Claudio Sillero
Jaguars & Maned Wolves, 22 July 5 August 2015
with Onafari Jaguar Project & Maned Wolf Management
Programme led by Prof Claudio Sillero & Rogrio Cunha
de Paula
African Wild Dogs, 17 29 September 2016
with Painted Dog Conservation led by vet & Patron
Steve Leonard
Safaris hand-picked and led by wildlife researchers and
conservation naturalists open up Pandoras box on animal
behaviour and its role within the ecosystem, as well as drawing
the best out of local safari guides whilst retaining utmost
respect of the natural world.
Indian Wildlife,
9 21 April 2015
with tiger specialist Stephen Mills

FEATURED TOUR

Rajasthan & Gujarat ~ Lions, Tigers,

Leopards & much much more! ~ 3650
Tour date: 26 November 14 December
Country: India
See website for details of
this tour plus many others

CONTACT: Christopher Hall

Tel: 01773 716550 / Mob: 07756 930 268
Email: [email protected]
Website: newhorizonsonline.co.uk

Zambian Wildlife,
16 26 October 2015
with researcher, naturalist
& conservationist Stephen Mills
Kenyan Wildlife,
1 9 October 2015
with Maasai naturalist & wildlife
presenter Jackson Looseyia

SPENCER SCOTT TRAVEL SERVICES

spencerscotttravel.com
[email protected]
01825 714310
ATOL 3471 EST. 1988

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

AQUA FIRMA

SUPPORTING MARINE RESEARCH

In Mexico, clients can snorkel amongst the worlds largest
known aggregation of whale sharks and Atlantic giant manta
rays, in the company of leading local and international
researchers whose work the company funds. Ralph Pannell,
director at Aqua-Firma, reports The most whale sharks I have
seen from our research vessel in Mexico is about 180, with as
Giant Mantas rays to snorkel with beneath the water,
Our research team are convinced that they are a short
distance away from proving that the giant mantas we see here
are a separate species from the two so far identified.
In Tanzania, Aqua-Firma is now the prime sponsor for whale
shark research on Mafia Island a stunning location to share
the water with these ocean giants and enjoy some of East
Africas most pristine coral reefs.
Aqua-Firmas in house marine scientists also lead trips
to snorkel, dive and photograph penguins, whales, orcas,
dolphins, coral reefs and more. Experiences range from
humpback whale birthing and breeding grounds of the
Caribbean Silverbanks, to Mexicos Socorro Island and
Baja California, the Galapagos Islands, Indonesia and both
polar regions.
RAINFOREST4CLIMATE
As a leading Polar travel company, Aqua-Firma keeps a
Rainforest4Climate Fund which it uses to help offset the
carbon emissions of client polar voyages and flights. This
covers travel to Spitsbergen, Greenland, Canada, Antarctica,
South Georgia and the Falklands. Aqua-Firma also adds to
this fund for each journey it operates to lowland and montane
forest in Ecuador and Peru.
In January, Aqua-Firma committed to fund the creation
of a 10,000 acre protected forest reserve within a proposed
5.9 million acres of national park, national reserve and 57
community owned territories in Amazonian Peru.
It also committed to fund the protection of more
than 1,000 acres of rainforest in Madagascar.

AQUA FIRMA
Website: www.aqua-firma.co.uk
www.aqua-firma.co.uk/rainforest4Climate/
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01428 620012

BUSANGA SAFARIS

Named after a vast shimmering flood plain in Zambias Kafue

National Park, Busanga Safaris first began arranging safaris for
clients in 1999. A family owned wildlife safari company, based
in the UK with satellite offices in Zambia, Busanga is a true
wildlife company, striving to exceed expectations.
The team at Busanga carefully tailor make safaris to key
wildlife destinations across Africa. Built around the time you
have available, and your budget, Busanga has a website full of
great ideas!
Founder of Busanga, Tony McKeith, personally guides some
very popular small group safaris, adding an extra dimension
to your safari, and taking you under the skin of some great
wildlife destinations. Expert wildlife knowledge and a level
of experience working and living in the bush, and a vast
amount of personal travel experiences help the Busanga team
to create safaris that
combine fantastic wildlife
encounters in wonderfully
wild places.
ATOL bonded which
gives clients complete
financial security and
available 7 days Busanga
pride themselves on
always being available
pick up the phone or email,
they are always happy to
hear from you.

BUSANGA SAFARIS
Website: busangasafaris.com
Mobile: +44 (0)7917 005015
Email: [email protected]

FOLLOw DARWINS
FOOTSTEPS

DISCOVER GALAPaGoS
LATIN AMERICA ANTARcTICA
Specialising in tailor-made & escorted tours for more
than 27 years. ATOL protected 3760

020 7407 1478

[email protected]
www.selectlatinamerica.co.uk

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

TASMANIA, THE LAND

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Tasmania is where the first Green Party was started in 1983, when it
saved the mighty Franklin River, bringing its rainforest back from the
very brink of destruction. This islands green credentials are undisputed

n contrast to mainland Australia,

only one Tasmanian species has
been lost (although there are
some wildlife experts who believe the
Thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, still
roams the remote wilderness.)
The facts speak for themselves. No
less than half Tasmanias landmass is
protected. The air is the cleanest in the
inhabited world. Farming is free from
antibiotics, chemicals and hormone
use. There is a moratorium on GM
produce. The land is the size of Ireland
yet has just one ninth its population.
Put simply, nature is king.
So, how can you be sure that a visit
to this wild, rugged and bewitching
land, that lies somewhere between
New Zealand, Antarctica and South
America, will meet with the tacit
approval of the eco-warriors who
battled to put it on its enviable
pedestal, and the islanders who still,

MAIN IMAGE:

Gordon River,
Strahan
TOP RIGHT:

Wombat
peering out
of burrow
BOTTOM RIGHT:

Devils sleeping

today, strive to keep it there?

Heres how. Tasmanian Odyssey
is the only travel company that is
completely dedicated to Tasmania
and to supporting its local, privately
owned tourism providers, its land and
its wildlife. Book with us and you will
share in the lives of those who have
shaped its recent history. These are
people for whom sustainable living
is a way of life. Hear how they have
nurtured their land and protected
the animals and birds that inhabit it.
Travel with us, guided or under your
own steam, and we promise you
will see most if not all of Tasmanias
native and endemic species in the
wild (with the possible exception of
the Thylacine. Nature, after all, has
to have the last laugh.) Tasmanian
devils, eastern quolls, white wallabies,
echidna and the duck-billed platypus
to name just a few. These will not be

chance encounters nor will they be

part of a carefully-orchestrated tour;
they will happen simply because
you are walking in the footsteps of
those who saved an isolated, but very
beautiful corner of the world from a
fate to which much of the rest has
succumbed.
Even better, because we donate part
of every booking to the Tasmanian
Land Conservancy, every visit
you make with us will ensure the
protection of this ancient land for
future generations of species that
our children can hope to see in their
lifetime too.

TASMANIAN
ODYSSEY
www.tasmanianodyssey.com
01534 735449
[email protected]

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

ULTIMATE SAFARI
EXPERIENCE
Ultimate Safari Experience is based in the UK and are specialists
in guided luxury safaris, self-drive overland excursions, bird
watching and photographic tours to a variety of wilderness
destinations throughout the world, such as walking safaris in
Zambia, birdwatching in Costa Rica to searching for the worlds
largest mammal the blue whale in Sri Lanka.
These areas include some of the worlds most spectacular
wildlife holidays and we offer you the opportunity to
experience wildlife at its wildest, most rugged, most remote
and most beautiful! All under the expert guidance of your own
personal tour guide.
We are delighted that Wildlife Expert Iolo Williams is to guest lead
tours for us in 2015 to Zambia and India. Iolo has travelled to 70
Countries Worldwide so you will be in great company and expertise.

Ultimate Safari Experience is pleased to offer you two unique

Wildlife Tours. Which will be led the broadcaster Iolo Williams.
The first tour is to South Luangwa National Park in Zambia in
September 2015. We have exclusively booked Chimfule Lodge
for our guests for the duration of the safari. The second tour is
to India in October where we will visit Kaziranga in the North
of India close to the border with Nepal and the Himalayas.
Kazaringa is home to the one horned rhino, Tiger and
Elephant. The park is best explored on elephant safaris. We will
then head to the world famous Ramthombhore National Park
in search of the elusive Tiger.

ULTIMATE SAFARI EXPERIENCE

Email: [email protected]
Website: ultimatesafariexperience.com

WANT EXPEDITIONS
WILDLIFE &
NATURE TRAVEL

The world leader in highly personalized, conservation-oriented

small group travel. Connecting travellers, adventurers,
photographers and conservationists from all over the
world through expeditions to see the most amazing natural
phenomena that exist on our planet, WANT Expeditions strives
to create the most in-depth and authentic travel experiences
on Earth while simultaneously promoting responsible tourism
and sustainability projects in developing countries.
WANT Expeditions uses only local business partners,
practices strong environmental conservation measures,
supports the protection of cultures and traditions, and
encourages letting go of western ideals.
At WANT Expeditions, staff believe whole-heartedly that
it is their social responsibility to work hand-in-hand to
empower the communities they visit to ensure the local
people benefit as much as, if not more than, the tour groups
do. Environmental conservation, responsible tourism and
cultural sustainability are at the core of all expeditions, and for
this reason, the tour operator continues to generate projects
and partner with several organisations to improve the lives of
those with whom they interact. Authentic cultural immersion
and strong ethical practices prove that WANT Expeditions is
dedicated to providing their guests and communities around
the globe with a better understanding for the way others live.

WANT EXPEDITIONS
Email: [email protected]
Website: wantexpeditions.com

READER HOLIDAY

READER
HOLIDAY

Wildlife and
landscape
photography
1118 April 2015
Spend a week with two of Britains best wildlife and landscape
photographers at Aigas Field Centre in the Highlands.
Photograph red
deer in the glens
of the Highlands.

MEET OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Deer: Laurie Campbell; landscape: Charlotte Morris

LAURIE CAMPBELL
is one of Scotlands most
accomplished wildlife and nature
photographers. His images of the
countrys fauna and flora are
published worldwide.
JOE CORNISH
is a landscape photographer who
has worked all over the world. He
has published a book devoted to
the mountains of Scotland, one
of his favourite subjects.

March 2015

ont miss your chance to join Laurie

Campbell and Joe Cornish for a week of
expert photographic tuition at Scotlands
Aigas Field Centre. Spring is a wonderful
time to be in the Highlands, with every day bringing
change and fresh promise. Geese are gathering in
the fields and dreaming of the north, the air is fresh
and clear, and the light is ever-changing as winter
relinquishes its grip.
Laurie and Joe will lead BBC Wildlife readers for the
week, providing instruction, mentoring and advice.
Together you will explore some of the best wildlife and
landscape spectacles that the area has to offer, while
expert rangers will be your guides to the local species.
At Aigas Field Centre you will enjoy private hides
and trails offering the opportunity to photograph
pine martens, red and roe deer, badgers and other
iconic species. After days out in the spectacular
hills and glens of the central Highlands, you
will return each evening to the warm hospitality
of this family home.

Charlotte Morris took

this beautiful shot of
Glen Affric on a BBC
Wildlife Reader Holiday
at Aigas last autumn.

WILDLIFE AND
LANDSCAPE
PHOTOGRAPHY
READER HOLIDAY
1118 APRIL 2015
Where Aigas Field Centre,
the Highlands of Scotland
Cost 1,399 per person
(fully inclusive; no single
supplement)

TO BOOK
01463 782443
[email protected]
www.aigas.co.uk/bbcwildlife

ACTIVITIES AND EXPERIENCES INCLUDE:

O Exploit the golden hour at sunrise and sunset
O Learn how to build a hide, plus field skills

and flash techniques

O Discover what makes a good landscape photo

In association with

O Improve your post-production workflow

O Visit hides for pine martens and badgers
O Share in the secrets of time-lapse photography
O Get feedback on your work from Laurie and Joe

Aigas
Field Centre
Sharing the Wonders
of the Wild Highlands

For details, visit www.discoverwildlife.com

BBC Wildlife 101

Shetland Nature
wildlife | birding | photography | walking

Shetlands only Five

Star wildlife experience

Our ethos as a tour company is built around

responsibility to wildlife, with small groups focusing
on quality, not quantity and is inspired by a lifetime
of knowledge of the islands wildlife, offering a
unique and authentic Shetland experience.

OUT AND ABOUT

WITH TILLEY

Supporting;

Follow our latest news

Tel: 01957 710 000 | mail: [email protected]

web: www.shetlandnature.net

All our Hats are guaranteed for life. They provide

UPF50+ sun protection, tie on in the wind, float, and are
water resistant, keeping you covered wherever
your adventures take you

www.tilley.com T: 01326 574402

Proudly made in Canada
Designed for the world

LEARN ABOUT and be INSPIRED by THE OUTDOORS

A range of day and short residential courses to
help you discover and enjoy the natural world.
Walking, Photography, Wildlife & Arts courses
Stunning locations across the UK
Meet like-minded people
Comfortable sole occupancy accommodation

Call: 0845 345 4071

Visit: www.field-studies-council.org/discover-something-new

REVIEWS

O BOOKS
O TV & RADIO
O DIGITAL
O EVENTS
O MOVIES
THIS

MUST
DO

Find out more about such

wonderful cetaceans as the
endangered Hectors dolphin
at WhaleFest this March.

Hectors dolphin: Andreas Maecker; rook: Guy Edwardes/NPL; house sparrow: Graham Eaton/rspb-images.com

MONTH

EVENT

MAKING A SPLASH
WHALEFEST
The Brighton Centre, Brighton
14 and 15 March

ive in and show your support for sea life

and marine environments by attending
this unmissable celebration. WhaleFest
is the global gathering that gives whales and
dolphins a more powerful voice, says festival
co-founder Ian Rowlands.
The event, now in its fifth year, continues
to grow and inspire people to join an army of
ambassadors for marine species. The funfilled weekend is packed with family-friendly
entertainment, such as indoor whale-watching

DONT MISS

The Rook and Me

Naturalist Mark Cocker
follows a colony of rooks
over the course of a year.
http://bbc.in/16vEESL

March 2015

trips, 30 life-size replica whales, whale rescues

organised by the British Divers Marine Life
Rescue and a shark zone.
The festival will also feature scientific talks from
a range of celebrity guests and experts, such as
Steve Backshall, presenter of CBBCs Deadly 60.
BBC Wildlife will be at the show too, so we hope to
see you there. Day tickets cost 14 for adults, 3.50
for children (415 years old) and 30 for families.
Jo Price Staff writer
l Find out more at www.whale-fest.com

Who Killed the

Cockney Sparrer?
Tom Heap investigates who,
or what, is killing the sparrow.
http://bbc.in/1w2lk42

Whos the Pest?

Entomologist Erica McAlister
takes listeners on an adventure
in the insect world.
http://bbc.in/1x2hOxP

BBC Wildlife

103

These bison are grazing

in Yosemite National
Park, Wyoming John
Muir was involved in
the parks creation.

OK
BO
OF THE
MONTH

DEFENDING
NATURE
Meet the man who advocated the
preservation of wilderness in the USA.

JOHN MUIR: THE SCOTSMAN WHO

SAVED AMERICAS WILD PLACES
By Mary Colwell
Lion Hudson 9.99

FIELD GUIDE TO THE

DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES
OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND
By Steve Brooks and Steve Cham

elebrated in the USA as a founder of its conservation

movement, and a driving force behind the creation
of the nations national parks, Scots-born emigrant
John Muir is barely known in Britain. A seemingly fearless
adventurer, he endured unimaginable hardships and
near-death experiences so that he might commune with
the essence of wilderness and then express it in eloquent
prose. Muir wrote about the despoliation and pillaging of
Americas landscapes in the second half of the 19th century
using words that have eerie resonance today: a grand
harvest was reaped every year while nobody sowed.
Muir is a charismatic yet enigmatic figure. A heavy
reliance by Mary Colwell on Muirs outward-looking writing
means that the inner workings of a public personality are
hidden his neglected family is only sketchily portrayed,
for example. However, this fond biography encourages
the reader to seek out more. It is a fine epitaph to an
unfailingly optimistic pioneer, motivated by strong religious
convictions, who showed humility and kindness to nature.

Bison: Nature Production/NPL; K Norbury: Robin Farquhar-Thomson

Derek Niemann Naturalist and author

104

BBC Wildlife

British Wildlife Publishing 18.95 (5th edn)

Its been 10 years since the last

revision of this ground-breaking
guide, but a decade is a long
time in the world of dragons
and damsels several species
have colonised the British Isles,
and others have extended their
ranges. A new chapter on climate
is welcome, while there are
expanded accounts of behaviour
and habitats, and more detailed
distribution maps. The text is
succinct and informative, too,
while the layout is crisp and
Richard Lewingtons mouthwatering artwork is accurate and
instructive. In short, a must-buy.
Brett Westwood Naturalist and
BBC Radio 4 presenter

GODS OF THE MORNING

By Sir John Lister-Kaye
Canongate 14.99 (published 5 March)

Golden eagles, pine martens,

ospreys and otters: iconic species
of the Scottish Highlands. But it
is the everyday birds blackcaps,
buzzards and rooks that
conservationist John Lister-Kaye
terms his gods of the morning.
Through the course of a year at
Aigas, the field-studies centre he
established in 1976, the author
describes these avian encounters
in intimate detail: a mountaintop
meeting with a merlin fizzes
off the pages like the bird itself
streaking over the heather. The
extraordinary spring of 2013,
however, leaves Lister-Kaye
wondering how our increasingly
unpredictable weather may affect
the future of his beloved birds.
Pete Dommett Nature writer

March 2015

REVIEWS BOOKS

MEET THE AUTHOR

BEST APPS

FOR WILDLIFE GARDENERS

OPAL Bugs Count
Pocket ID Guide

Organic Gardening
Planting Planner

iOS, free

iOS and Android, free

This app from the

Natural History Museum and
the Open Air Laboratories
network (OPAL) helps you
to identify most common
invertebrates found in the UK,
using ID tips and images from
the museum. You can also use
the app to take part in the
OPAL Bugs Count survey.

Evernote

Prices correct at time of going to press.

iOS and Android, free

Evernote is not a
dedicated gardening
app, but its indispensable. It is
a virtual notebook that stores
and organises digital material
from your notes, web links,
PDFs, images, video and audio
see www.discoverwildlife.com
for advice on photographing
and filming garden wildlife.

If you want to
develop a successful organic
garden without pesticides or
soil additives then this is the
app for you. It helps you to
get the timing right for sowing
and planting based on your
location, and you can test your
ideas on a virtual garden in
conjunction with a calendar.

RSPB eGuide to
British Birds
iOS and Android, 4.99

This interactive
companion to the excellent
RSPB Handbook of British Birds
is the ideal reference for garden
birders. Use the high-res images,
descriptions and audio to identify
the species visiting your feeders.
Get them to nest in your garden
too with the advice on p82.

KATHARINE
NORBURY
Nature writer Katharine discovers the
healing properties of our wild landscape.
Why did you choose that title?

THE FISH
LADDER

CREATURES OF THE DEEP

By Erich Hoyt
Firefly 25.00 (2nd edition)

Creatures of the Deep expands

and updates the prize-winning
first edition of 2001. Much has
happened in ocean science since
then, and Erich Hoyt captures
the excitement and beauty of
recent advances. With lavish
photos and engaging, accurate
prose, he takes readers on a
journey of wonder through
the oceans layers and around
the planet, shedding light on
extraordinary lives. The deeper
you go, the less we know only
a few hundred of the thousands
of species that live in the abyss
have been photographed. Hoyts
book showcases why we must do
more to safeguard life in the sea.
Callum Roberts Professor of
marine conservation

March 2015

THE WILDLIFE TRUSTS

HANDBOOK OF GARDEN
WILDLIFE
By Nicholas Hammond
Bloomsbury 12.99 (2nd edition)

This is the ideal reference work

for anyone who wants to gain
pleasure from the wildlife on
their doorstep. There are 400
beautifully drawn illustrations of
every creature you might hope
to find in a domestic garden or
an urban park, accompanied
by detailed notes. The usual
charismatic species are featured
kingfishers and herons, foxes and
hedgehogs, toads and newts but
the handbook is also particularly
helpful for identifying oftenneglected animals such as moths,
spiders, dragonflies and snails.
Keep it on your window sill,
rather than your coffee table.
Chris Baines Conservationist

is a story of
discovery and
recovery as the
grieving author
traces a river
from the sea to
its source, and
meets the woman
who gave her up
for adoption.
www.bloomsbury.
com, 16.99

I like it because it works on different

levels both fish and ladder have
many associations. When I saw the
fish ladder at Pitlochry, Scotland,
it seemed the perfect metaphor: a
man-made solution to a man-made
interruption of a natural process
[Atlantic salmon climb the ladder to
migrate past a dam wall every year].
How did nature help you to overcome
your grief following a miscarriage?

The physical, living world that responds

to every nuance, without judgment,
is like a mirror for me. I measure
myself against its impassivity, observe
the reactions of wild things to my
passing, feel my connection with the
regenerating world and it heals me.
Why is the countryside so important?

For many people who live in it, the

countryside is a working environment
where food, energy, water and timber are
grown and harvested. If you mean the
wilder places the mountains, forests,
rivers and caves then they show us
a side of ourselves it is vital to retain.
What do your readers learn?

My book is a portrait of a landscape that

is rapidly changing, and casts a human
story my search for my origins
within a contextualising landscape,
which perhaps offers some perspective.
BBC Wildlife

105

V
T
O
CH ICE
PEARL OF THE
INDIAN OCEAN
A look at the treasure trove of natural riches
that war has hidden from the world.

WILD SRI LANKA

Sundays from 8 March, 6pm (Sky 526/Virgin 230)

heres nowhere quite like Sri

TOP FACT
Lanka. This tiny teardrop of an
island off the southern tip of India
Q The Sri Lankan
elephant is a
is a biodiversity hotspot, home to species
from the charismatic megafauna we know subspecies of the
Asian elephant.
and love to weird and exotic endemics.
The outer areas
of its ears lack
Wildlife thrives in Sri Lanka because
pigment, giving
there is literally water, water everywhere,
a pink, speckled
as this sumptuous new three-part series
appearance.
reveals. The country is surrounded by
tropical oceans beloved by blue and sperm whales and
superpods of spinner dolphins; carved up by 105 major
rivers (no mean feat, considering its length would slot neatly
between Edinburgh and Birmingham) that support leopards,
crocodiles and the worlds biggest congregations of Asian
elephants; fringed by brackish mangroves where archerfish
and greater flamingos flourish; and edged by sandy beaches
on which green and olive ridley turtles nest. It even, uniquely,
receives drenchings from not one, but two annual monsoons.
Sri Lanka is a beautiful, Buddhist island inhabited by
the nicest people on Earth, who live side by side with some
absolutely incredible wildlife, says series producer Mike
Birkhead. The country is recovering from an awful civil
war and the devastating effects of the tsunami, but you
wouldnt necessarily know. Sarah McPherson Section editor

TV NEW SERIES

AN UNSEEN LAND

RADIO QUOTE
Adam and Ellie
uncover Yorkshire.

SECRET BRITAIN

`a

Elephants: Graham MacFarlane/Terra Mater Factual Studios;

bald eagle: Milo Burcham/BBC; Martha: Ivy Close Images/Alamy

Three episodes, due to air early spring check RT.

Co-presented by Countryfiles Adam Henson and

Ellie Harrison, Secret Britain is back, revamped,
refreshed and ready to reveal the corners of the
country that you never knew existed. Though the
programmes are grounded in the countryside
and environment rather than wildlife, they
should nonetheless fill your calendar with
plans for weekends in the great outdoors.
Highlights include a sleuthing trip to
Scotlands Loch Morar on the trail of legendary
monster Morag, Nessies lesser-known cousin;
scouring parts of the Great Glen in search of
one of Bonnie Prince Charlies hideouts; and a
visit to caves deep under the Brecon Beacons
to investigate two incredible stalagmite and
stalactite formations known as The Ballerina
and The Bees Knees, which have never
previously been filmed for television.

106

BBC Wildlife

OF THE MONTH

People often forget how wonderful our

countryside is it never ceases to amaze, says
producer David Johnson. We want this series
to reconnect people with their own patch of
Britain, and remind them that they can enjoy
some absolutely stunning places without having
to travel far at all.

THE WHOLE
LANDSCAPE
SMELT FOUL
AT TIMES, BUT
IT WAS A
MAGNET FOR
WADERS.
Brett Westwood, naturalist

The Diaries of Brett Westwood: Sewage

www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/nathistory

March 2015

REVIEWS BROADCAST
TV CATCHUP

A bald eagle
scans the horizon
for danger in the
icy grip of the
Alaskan winter.

MORE THAN SNOW

The Sri Lankan subspecies
is the largest of the Asian
elephants, living in herds
of up to 20 individuals.

RADIO NEW PROGRAMME

LAST OF HER KIND

MARTHA AN ENDLINGS TALE
Tuesday 10 March, 11.02am; repeated Monday 16 March, 9.02pm

When Europeans arrived in

America, there were several
billion passenger pigeons. But
on 1 September 1914 the last
remaining individual, Martha,
died in captivity at Cincinnati
Zoo. Wildlife film-maker John
Aitchison recounts this sad
story of extinction, travelling
to the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington DC to see the
now-preserved bird for himself.
In the course of the
programme John uncovers the
life and history of this doomed
species and examines the
causes of its extinction a
combination of deforestation,

March 2015

hunting, railroads,
refrigeration
and simple
human greed. He also
investigates whether the
bird could be raised
from the grave
via genomic
technology
and a living
relative, the
band-tailed
pigeon.

Martha: last
representative
of her species.

Alaska is more than just a white wilderness its

one of the most changeable places on the planet.

ALASKA: EARTHS FROZEN KINGDOM

Episode three airs Wednesday 18 February, 8pm

f youve been enjoying

this three-parter currently
airing on BBC Two, make
sure that you tune in for
the third and final episode
(you can catch the first two
on iPlayer). This series
celebrates one of the most
seasonal places on Earth
Alaskas temperatures have
plummeted as low as 60C
in winter but have risen as
high as 38C in summer
revealing how both people
and the local wildlife cope
with such dramatically
changing conditions.
While episodes one
and two looked at spring
and summer respectively,
episode three turns to
winter, when Alaska moves
into months of frozen
lockdown. Its bitterly cold
and the landscape is buried
in deep snow. Standout
sequences include the bald
eagles that congregate in

their thousands to pick off

the last migrating salmon
on one stretch of river
that, thanks to a quirk of
geology, remains unfrozen;
the polar bear cubs in
the far north attempting
to walk on fresh sea-ice,
getting to grips with the
strange way it bends
beneath their feet; and
the plucky arctic fox that
wanders the streets of the
small town of Deadhorse.
Everyone thinks of
Alaska as a snowy, icy
place, but we want this
series to show that it has
other sides too, says series
producer Mary Summerill.
The astonishing variety
of conditions in Alaska
brings out the feistiness
of everything that lives
there both humans and
animals demonstrating
just how tough you need
to be to survive. SM
BBC Wildlife

107

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

CALLING ALL
WILDLIFE
PHOTOGRAPHERS!
ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE BRITISH
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2015

Trevor Rees/BWPA

This image of mute swans in

Llandudno, Wales, was highly
commended in 2014s Urban
Wildlife category.

he launch of this years British

Wildlife Photography Awards gives
you the opportunity to highlight
the wealth and diversity of British
wildlife, with the best of the finalists joining a
touring exhibition and appearing in a stunning
book. Finalists will be invited to an exclusive
awards ceremony in London and there is an
overall prize fund of up to 20,000.
Each year the British Wildlife Photography
Awards generates an incredible catalogue of
splendid, exciting, imaginative and artistic

T
108

BBC Wildlife

images, proving beyond doubt that we have

the richest palette of life to celebrate in
our own back yard, says Chris Packham.
Anyone passionate about protecting and
preserving wildlife will be inspired by the
British Wildlife Photography Awards, which
has done more than any other competition
to raise the profile of British wildlife.
There are 16 categories open to anyone
around the world including Animal Behaviour,
Urban Wildlife, Habitat and Animal Portraits,
as well as junior and school awards.

O To be inspired by last years

finalists and to get full details of
all of the award categories and
competition rules, head online:

www.bwpawards.org
February 2015

REVIEWS EVENTS
CLUB SPOTLIGHT

PAISLEY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

SPECIALITY LOCAL CONSERVATION PROJECTS IN RENFREWSHIRE, SCOTLAND

Want to join the club?

Annual membership costs 10

(14 for families): www.paisley
naturalhistorysociety.org.uk
Q If you want your club or event

to be featured here, email wildlife

[email protected]

JOIN ITS EVENT

What Reserved for Nature?
When 7.30pm to 9pm on
Thursday 5 March
Where Paisley Museum, Paisley
This talk will be presented by
David Shenton, a convenor for the
Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) who
was instrumental in establishing
the SWT Loch Ardinning wildlife
reserve in Stirlingshire. He
will discuss the role of wildlife
reserves in Scotland. I will use
Loch Ardinning to illustrate
various reserve-management
issues related to grassland,
moorland, woodland and
wetlands, says David. The
meeting is free to the general
public no booking required.

A view of Loch
Ardinning wildlife
reserve from
the south-east.

MARCH WILDLIFE EVENTS

Until

T
EVEN
E
CHOIC

31

Apr
W

TOADS ON ROADS
When migrating amphibians march
to their breeding grounds, many
die on our roads (see p13). You can
help by joining a Toads on Roads
patrol organised by Froglife. Find
one near you by entering your
postcode at the website below.
www.froglife.org/what-we-do/
toads-on-roads/tormap/

9 Mar

28 Mar

A LIFE WITH ELEPHANTS

WWF EARTH HOUR

Join Saba Douglas-Hamilton,

presenter of BBC Ones Big Cat
Diary, at 7.30pm at The Lyceum,
Edinburgh, as she shares her
wildlife adventures and footage of
life in the African savannah. Tickets
cost 17.50. Booking is required.
http://lyceum.org.uk

WWF is asking everyone to turn

off their lights for an hour at
8.30pm to show that the worlds
environmental issues dont have
to overwhelm us. Join millions of
people around the globe who take
part in this annual event.
http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk

Toad: Laura Brady/Froglife; Big Ben and Westminster lights turned off:
John Phillips/WWF-UK; Saba: Sam Gracey; osprey: John Wright

23-29 Mar
X

WORLD OSPREY WEEK

This exciting online event organised
by the Leicestershire and Rutland
Wildlife Trust enables schools to
follow the migratory journeys of
satellite-tagged ospreys as they fly
north to Europe and North America.
Teaching resources are available.
www.ospreys.org.uk

March 2015

`a

ERS
K
A
E
P
S RNER
CO

Andy
Wakefield

WHAT Lights, Animals, Action

WHEN 7pm to 8pm on Tuesday 10 March
WHERE Bristol Zoo Gardens
Conservation Education Centre
Academic Andy
Wakefield will be
presenting his
own research on
common UK bat
and insect species as part of
the events celebrating the fact
that Bristol has been named
the European Green Capital for
2015. The talk at Bristol Zoo will
highlight the countless ways that
artificial light during the night
impacts on wildlife. This ranges
from disrupting the orientation
of turtle hatchlings to affecting
the timings of birds courtship
songs, says Andy. Booking is
required and tickets cost 4.
Contact the Avon Gorge and
Downs Wildlife Project on 0117
903 0609, or email mleivers@
bristolzoo.org.uk.
http://bristolgreencapital.org
Andy Wakefield is a PhD student
at the University of Bristol.
BBC Wildlife

109

SWT Loch Ardinning: David Shenton; Andy Wakefield: Katy Wakefield

What they say Our aim is

to encourage the study of
natural history and support
the conservation of wildlife
and habitats throughout
Renfrewshire.
What we say Paisley Natural
History Society was formed
in the early 1970s by local
naturalists and maintains
links with the Natural History
Department of Paisley Museum.

WL15

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BBC Wildlife

March 2015

THE DIRECTORY

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BBC Wildlife

113

THE DIRECTORY

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114

BBC Wildlife

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March 2015

THE DIRECTORY

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BBC Wildlife

115

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116

BBC Wildlife

March 2015

WHALEFEST 2015:
A STAR LINEUP
Join BBC Wildlife Magazine at WhaleFest 2015 to meet star
wildlife ambassadors and discover more about marine wildlife.

JOIN THESE WILDLIFE

AMBASSADORS:

MONTY
HALLS

Orca: Rachael Barber; Steve Backshall on stage and inflatable orca: Richard Boll

GORDON
BUCHANAN

STEVE BA

CKSHALL
WhaleFest guest
director

PLUS Ric OBarry,

Hal Whitehead,
Martyn Stewart
and major wildlife
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Brownlow, Steve
Greenwood and
James Brickell

MICHAELAAN
STRACH

THE FESTIVAL INCLUDES

O Chill Zone

OFestival Main Stage

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careers speed-dating and our Live Lounge

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Backshall, Gordon Buchanan,
Monty Halls and Michaela
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cetaceans a voice. And this
year BBC Wildlife Magazine
will be joining the event, so
come and meet us too.

FOR MORE INFORMATION WWW.WHALE-FEST.COM O 01273 355011

March 2015

BBC Wildlife

117

Images courtesy of Andrew & Mark Hoskins

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COMPETITIONS

CROSSWORD

Win a prize with

our brain-teaser.

BBC WILDLIFE
ADVISORY PANEL
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
BBC natural-history presenter

PROF CHRIS BAINES

Conservationist and gardener

Compiled by RICHARD SMYTH

DR JON BRIDLE
Biologist, University of Bristol

JOHN A BURTON
CEO, World Land Trust

MARK CARWARDINE
Zoologist, writer and photographer

DR PETER EVANS
Scientific director, Sea Watch Foundation

DR PHIL GATES
Botanist, University of Durham

DR JANE GOODALL
Primatologist

STEVE GREENWOOD
Series producer, BBC Natural History Unit

MIKE GUNTON
Producer, BBC Natural History Unit

Answers
in our
Spring
issue

MARTIN HARPER
Director of conservation, RSPB

PROF STEPHEN HARRIS

Zoologist, University of Bristol

DR PETER HAYWARD

Honorary research fellow, University of Swansea

JANUARY ANSWERS

TREVOR JAMES

Across: 8 Orca, 9 Eucalyptus,

10 Agouti, 11 Tamarisk, 12 Barn,
13 Immaculate, 17 Stem,
18 Kenya, 19 Ruff, 20 Snowy
egret, 22 Deer, 23 Pheasant,
27 Rwanda, 28 Crustacean,
29 Lace
Down: 1 Crag martin,
2 Laburnum, 3 Periwinkle,
4 Scut, 5 Clam, 6 Spiral,
7 Puss, 14 Minor, 15 Chattering,
16 Tufted duck, 19 Red maple,
21 Wrasse, 24 Hart, 25 Acai,
26 Toed

Chairman, British Naturalists Association

JANUARY PRIZE
WINNER

PROF DAVID MACDONALD

Patricia Willis Norfolk

RICHARD A JONES
Entomologist

TONY JUNIPER
Environmental campaigner

SIMON KING
Wildlife presenter and film-maker

DR ANDREW KITCHENER
Principal curator of vertebrates,
National Museums Scotland

TOM LANGTON
Herpetologist

RICHARD MABEY
Naturalist and author
Director, Wildlife Conservation Research
Unit, University of Oxford

PROF ROBBIE McDONALD

Chair in natural environment, Environment and
Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter

ACROSS
8 Member of the crow family, known
for its noisy communal nesting sites (4)
9 Fruit of the oak (5)
10 In falconry, a young hawk taken
from the nest for training (4)
11 The small ___ butterfly has brown
spots and a brown margin (6)
12 ___ Park in London is known for
its red and roe deer (8)
13 Genus of mosses found in peat bogs,
marshland, heath and moorland (8)
15 Herbaceous plant that has jagged
leaves covered with stinging hairs (6)
17 The kookaburra is often referred
to as the laughing ___ (7)
19 Greyish-brown duck found across
Eurasia and North America (7)
22 A bloom or blossom (6)
24 Thick-billed finch that eats seeds
and cherry stones (8)

26 The black and yellow striped ___

beetle is a pest to potato crops (8)
28 Northern name for the lapwing (6)
30 The ___worm is a beetle larva widely
eaten by garden birds (4)
31 Small, silvery fish of the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans, related to the
salmon and trout (5)
32 Vegetable of the genus Allium, also
a Welsh national emblem (4)
DOWN
1 Extinct, flightless bird found on
Mauritius until the late 17th century (4)
2 Species of tuna fish, also known as
the arctic or oceanic bonito (8)
3 Network of burrows (6)
4 Freshwater, brightly coloured fish
native to Asia, often kept in aquaria (7)
5 Semiaquatic snake; boa family (8)
6 The ___ crab occupies the discarded

shells of other marine creatures (6)

7 The singing of birds at daybreak is
known as the ___ chorus (4)
14 Prized structure of calcium
carbonate produced by a clam (5)
16 This Eurasian shrub or small tree has
clusters of white, pink or violet flowers;
popular in gardens (5)
18 The European eel migrates to the ___
Sea to spawn (8)
20 Tiny insect of the family Aleyrodidae
that can damage plants (8)
21 Swan species that closely resembles
the Bewicks swan (7)
23 The hairy caterpillar of the tiger
moth is also known as a ___ bear (6)
25 Deer native to North America
called elk in USA (6)
27 Richard ___ (180492) established
the Natural History Museum (4)
29 Wild, hardy mountain goat (4)

WIN A NESTBOX CAMERA

HOW TO ENTER This competition is only open to residents of the UK (including
the Channel Islands). Post entries to BBC Wildlife Magazine, March 2015
Crossword, PO Box 501, Leicester, LE94 0AA or email the answers to
[email protected] by 5pm on 4 March 2015. Entrants must
supply name, address and telephone number. The winner will be the first
correct entry drawn at random after the closing time. The name of the winner
will appear in the Spring 2015 issue. By entering participants agree to be
bound by the general competition terms and conditions shown on this page.
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March 2015

This hand-built
nestbox for birds,
worth 99.95,
features a
high-resolution
colour camera
and infrared night
vision, and is easy
to assemble.
O Visit www.
gardenature.co.uk
or call 01473
327775.

STEPHEN MILLS
Naturalist and conservationist

DR PAT MORRIS
Mammalogist

DOUGLAS PALMER
Palaeontologist and science writer

VASSILI PAPASTAVROU
Whale biologist, International Fund for Animal Welfare

BRUCE PEARSON
Wildlife artist

ROBIN PRYTHERCH
Ornithologist

IAN REDMOND
Chief consultant, UNEP/UNESCO
Great Apes Survival Project

TIM SCOONES
Executive producer, Springwatch,
BBC Natural History Unit

SOPHIE STAFFORD
Editorial consultant

VALMIK THAPAR
Conservationist
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119

YOUR PHOTOS
www.discoverwildlife.com is the place to see and share wildlife photos.

DUNE
DWELLER

DUELLING
STRIPES

TO
PHOIC
E
CHO

While on holiday in the Maasai

Mara, Kenya, I watched these
plains zebras during an intense
battle for dominance. They bit
each another and used their
hooves to kick their opponent into
submission. The fight ended when
one grabbed the other by its leg
and dragged it through the dust.
Michael Enticott, Oxfordshire

This reptile was wandering

along the dunes near
Swakopmund, Namibia.
Morning mists roll in from
the sea and deposit lifesustaining moisture, which
allows wildlife to survive in
such an arid area. I hadnt
seen a Namaqua chameleon
before it was fascinating
to watch it change colour
from green to brown when it
moved between the plants
and the open sand.
Ruth Keir, Glasgow

ONLINE CONTEST
CREATIVE VISIONS

4FOOTPATH
FIND
I spotted this yellow-tail moth
caterpillar on a leaf at the
side of a footpath on my way
to Boobys Bay, Padstow, last
summer. I had recently bought
a macro lens so couldnt leave
the creature without taking a
photo. I love its bright colours!
Emily Davies, Glastonbury,
Somerset

GARDEN SPIDER by Peter Neilan

STILL
3BEAUTY
After a 50-minute journey
by car and ferry then
snowshoeing for 2km, I
finally arrived at a small
group of jack pines on
Amherst Island, Lake
Ontario, Canada. As I
carefully checked each
tree I found my prize. This
northern saw-whet owl
remained very still, which
allowed me to take its
photograph.
Paul OToole, Ontario, Canada

BROWN HARE by David Blake

RED FOX by Lawrie Brailey

Enter our monthly online photographic
contest at www.discoverwildlife.com/
your-photos/photo-contest

I
120 BBC Wildlife

March 2015

YOUR PHOTOS

Hoodie available in mens and womens sizes.

WIN A SWEATER
AND KIT PRODUCTS

5SURPRISE AT SEA

It was a very foggy day in September

and my wife and I were booked on a whalewatching cruise in Knight Inlet, British
Columbia. We had our doubts about
whether the trip would go ahead, but set
off anyway. The fog got denser and denser
and suddenly we were surrounded by a
large pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins,
which made the trip very worthwhile. There
was a mad scramble for cameras and we
soon forgot the gloomy conditions!
Kelven Spratling, Chelmsford, Essex

March 2015

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6SPEEDING
BULLET
I have studied and photographed
kingfishers on the same stretch
of the River Torridge, Devon, for
the past five years. I first took
pictures of this male last year
as a juvenile, and was delighted
that he had survived the winter
floods and claimed this patch
of the river. Getting action shots
was very hard and required lots
of patience, but it paid off in the
end when I took this image.
Rob Cross, Bideford, Devon

BBC Wildlife

121

Tales

Water baby: Sue

returned this juvenile
to its natural habitat.

from the

bush
A WILD WORLD OF
RIPPING YARNS
WHO?
SUE DALY
is a wildlife writer,
film-maker and
photographer
based on Sark in the
Channel Islands (find out more at
www.suedalyproductions.com).

WHAT?
SHORTSNOUTED SEAHORSES

WHERE?
SARK, THE CHANNEL ISLANDS

ITS NOT EVERY DAY THAT

YOU GET TO THROW ON THE
SCUBA GEAR AND RESCUE
JUVENILE SEAHORSES

Sue Daly

t all started with an unusual invitation

from a local fisherman on Sark. Peter
Guille had pulled in a pollack with a
live seahorse in its mouth. He carefully
removed the seahorse and put it back in
the sea, before lopping off the pollacks head
and gutting it. He was amazed to find that its
stomach was full of tiny seahorses along with
a few small pipefish and sprats. Peter checked
another pollack caught in the same place and
it too had been dining on juvenile seahorses
and a few of them were still alive.
Now, he explained over the phone, he
was back in the harbour if Id like to see
his unusual catch. Like most scuba divers
I adore seahorses, and have been fascinated
by them since finding one on a shallow
dive off Jersey in 1994, but Ive seen only
half-a-dozen in the wild in the Channel
Islands since then.
So I hopped on my bicycle
and raced to meet Peter who
was still sorting his catch. He
had put the seahorses retrieved
from the pollacks stomachs
in a bucket of sea water. There
were about 50 pale creatures

3cm long, though only four were still alive

and finning around the bucket. They were
all short-snouted seahorses Hippocampus
hippocampus, one of only two seahorse
species living around the British Isles, and
the one most often recorded in the Channel
Islands; fully grown adults reach 1120cm.
The pollacks had been caught in 2040m
of water on a rocky reef exposed to the full
force of the tide, a most un-seahorse-like
habitat. Were they gobbled up in mid-water,
or picked off the seabed? Tiny pieces of
red seaweed among the stomach contents
indicated the latter, though I suppose they
could have been from a previous meal.
Peter was keen to return the live seahorses
to the sea, and we agreed that placing them
back on the seabed would give them a better
chance of survival than dropping them in
from above. So I put on my diving gear and

Peter shows off his

unexpected discovery.

swam underwater out of the pier heads to

the mooring area beyond, carrying the lucky
four in a clear plastic bag.
When I released the seahorses two of the
tiny fish swam away in mid-water, but the
others settled among the seaweed giving me
the chance to have a really good look. What
is it about seahorses, I wondered, that so
enchants us? The ancient Greeks and Romans
linked them with their gods Poseidon and
Neptune, making them symbols of strength
and power; we once believed that seahorses
carried the souls of sailors safely to the
underworld; and mothers everywhere love
the fact that its the male who gives birth.
Sadly there is a downside too their supposed
health-giving powers have led to populations
being plundered in many parts of the world
for use in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The odds of my four Jonahs surviving the
experience are slim, but at least
we know that this wonderful
species could be living where
the books say it shouldnt.

WHEN PETER GUTTED THE

POLLACK HE WAS AMAZED TO
FIND THAT THE FISHS STOMACH
WAS FULL OF TINY SEAHORSES.

122 BBC Wildlife

O Do you have a tale that you would like

to share? If so, please email a synopsis of
your idea to [email protected]

March 2015