The bullet man bites the bullet

This blog usually does not deviate from wildlife affairs. Today I am going to make a departure. This is to eulogize the Prime Minister of India Shri: Narendra Modi, who is a no nonsense man and a go-getter

In government circles Mr Modi is known as, the bullet man. While dealing with government secretaries he wants them to come up with bullet points portraying succinctly the targets, what has been achieved, what remains to be done and what are the constraints. He has a penchant for power point presentations that puts the points across without any ambiguity. He frowns at secretaries coming up with voluminous files and trying to access the details from them. He is also stickler for timing. He comes to his office well in advance and wants the others to report in time. He gives lot of leeway to officers in their functioning and encourages original thinking. He has ensured that officers with proven mettle remain in their post for at least five years. For him there is no sweeping of problems under the carpet. They have to be dealt with head on. I am sure it is going to be a carrot and stick policy. All these augurs well for the future of India.

The bullet man recently bit the bullet nonchalantly by hiking railway fares. The railway is in shambles. Successive governments pandered to the vote bank and did not have the will to raise the fares, which in turn landed the railway in its pathetic state now. The only way forward is to raise the fares and ensure good governance.

As a former government officer, I am impressed by the actions of a dynamic leader. No wonder right thinking men in the opposition like Shashi Tharoor and Jayram Ramesh recently acknowledged the good fall outs of Narendra Modi’s style of working, even though they have sharp differences with him from ideological points of view.

I wish the Prime Minister the very best in his endeavour to build a dynamic and prosperous India.

A writing competition for budding conservationists

Pete Bethune, founder of marine conservation organization, Earthrace, is a well known figure in international conservation circles. Pete is a world-record holder for the fastest trip around the world in a powerboat and is an avid supporter of marine life conservation. He is also the author of two best-selling books. The book Whale Warrior covers his time in Antarctica and is a treat to read.

Pete believes that youngsters are the key to future success of conservation. He founded the Earthrace Junior Activists Club in 2008. This club is run by Earthrace volunteers Alison Banks, Natalie Borghardt and Junior Activist Captain, 17-year-old Zach Affolter. The club has over 1,200 young members.

In an effort to encourage a growing network of children and young people from around the world who care about preserving and protecting the oceans Pete is launching a writing competition. Anyone up to the age of 18 can submit an essay or short story of no more than 500 words based on the theme ‘what the oceans mean to me’.  There are four age categories for the ocean writing challenge:  Under 10; 10-12 years, 13-15 years; and 16-18 years. The first prize is Earthrace remote control boat. Other prizes include a remote control shark, signed copies of Pete’s book Whale Warrior, Junior Activist t-shirts, caps, bumper stickers, signed posters, plush Maui’s dolphin toys and wristbands.

Entries should be sent by email to alison@earthrace.net by the closing date of 31 August 2014. 

Bumblebee hummingbird

Here is a beautiful recording of Bumblebee hummingbird (Atthis heloisa) captured by by Roberto Pedraza Ruiz at the Sierra Gorda Mexico

Rare video capture of Siberian tiger by Chinese fishermen

While fishing in the Ussuri River, which acts as a border between Russia and China, two Chinese fishermen got a prize catch on their mobile - A Siberian tiger swimming. Have a look at this rare video

Yet another break

Man proposes, God disposes. I had planned to be back on blogging scene on 15th, but one of my close friends from Calicut is in dire straits and needs immediate help. I am heading to Calicut to give him a helping hand.  I will be back on the blogging scene on 26th only.

Out travelling

I am out, travelling for the next four days. Consequently there will not be any update for the next five days. If you are a new visitor and a nature enthusiast have a look at the older posts. Have a wonderful time folks.

Is biodiversity offsetting a boon or a licence to trash?

Conservationists are divided when it comes to biodiversity offsetting. Replacing nature lost in one area by planting in another area looks enticing, but it can never be a full- fledged nature restoration. It should be adopted only as a last resort.

A recent conference in London Zoo saw heated exchanges.

Jonathan Baillie, conservation director at the Zoological Society of London, said: “Biodiversity offsetting is controversial. It polarises the conservation community. (We must accept) there is going to be development and changes as world population increases from seven billion to 9.2 billion by 2050. It may be appropriate to do offsets but that should be as a last resort.”

Baillie brought in the example of world heritage-classified Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo where plans are afoot for oil exploration. “For this there should not be offsets. There are many other examples where offsets are just not applicable,”

Julia Martin-Lefevre, director-general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said “We cannot compensate for loss in world heritage sites like Virunga. Nor can projects go ahead if it means the extinction of a species. We have to take a precautionary approach.”

Hannah Mowat, of Fern, which tracks EU forest policies, was very severe in her criticism. She said “Destruction of complex and site-specific biodiversity cannot be offset. It is time to be clear that offsetting will not tackle biodiversity loss but may impoverish communities.” “Developers are already gearing up to use biodiversity offsetting to bulldoze some of our most precious wildlife sites. There is no clear evidence that biodiversity offsetting works. Attempts abroad have frequently ended in failure,”

FIFA world cup and the conservation of three-banded armadillo

The Brazilian three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) is an armadillo species endemic to Brazil, where it is known as tatu-bola. This is the official mascot of 2014 FIFA world cup.

A plea by Brazilian scientists to protect the endangered mascot of the 2014 World Cup has produced desired results.  The plea was made by the scientists in an article published on 22 April in the Biotropica journal. Brazilian government is pushing ahead with an action plan to conserve this armadillo, which is unique to Brazil. It is good to see sports playing a role in conservation.

Bravo scientists and Brazilian Government

Saving the most threatened group of fish in the world

When it comes to most threatened group of fish in the world, the slot unfortunately goes to Sawfish. Sharks and rays regularly hog lime light in international media but there is nothing much on Sawfish.

Now Shark Specialist Group of the IUCN has come to the forefront of rescue of this fish. They have launched a global strategy to save the fish.

 Dr. Nick Dulvy, who serves as IUCN SSG Co-Chair and Canada Research Chair at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia says  “The sawfishes, revered for millennia by coastal cultures around the world, now face greater extinction risk than any other family of marine fish,” said strategy co-author, “With this comprehensive strategy, we aim to reignite sawfish reverence and spark conservation action in time to bring these iconic species back from the brink.”

The scientist are exhorting the following points as part of the conservation strategy

National and regional actions to prohibit intentional killing of sawfish,

Minimize mortality of accidental catches,

Protect sawfish habitats,

Improve effectiveness of communications,

Capacity building,

Strategic research,

Responsible husbandry and

Fundraising to ensure implementation

Wandering Oregon Wolf finally has pups

                                             Pic credit;USFWS

This is indeed heartwarming. This spring conservationists were delighted when famous radio collared wolf OR-7 was found to be in company of a female wolf, after years of wandering over thousands of kilometers from NE Oregon. Now comes this delightful piece of news that the couple has pups. The new wolf pack is now in Cascade Mountains, the first confirmed wolf pack in those mountains since the 1940s.

French sculptor Pascal Chesneau wins David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation 2014 Wildlife Artist of the Year award

French sculptor Pascal Chesneau has won the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation 2014 Wildlife Artist of the Year award for his creation Transparence Elephant. The award carries £10,000 as prize money. Chesneau accepted the £10,000 prize at an event in London on Monday night.

The famed artist uses recycled metals for his pieces. Bravo  Pascal Chesneau 

Alarming ivory trade in Europe

Although the EU trumpets a lot about elephant conservation, recent figures show that the ivory trade is thriving. In 2012, ivory stood second among smuggled wildlife goods in the EU. This was 14 per cent of all wildlife seizures. Lot of clandestine trade is occurring in the name of   “pre-Convention ivory” fuelled by EU documents certifying it as ivory acquired before trade rules of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) came in to force. More than 20,000 carvings and 564 tusks were exported with official EU documents during the period 2003 and 2012.

Mary Rice, of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) recently said: “We are calling on EU countries to halt all ivory trade within, to and from the EU and strengthen enforcement. This includes measures to destroy their stockpiled ivory – both carvings and raw tusks – irrespective of its source and alleged age. We will only be able to end the elephant poaching crisis when the trade fuelling it is banned and demand curbed.”

$1million wildlife watching trip

Sounds weird, but it is true. Natural World Safaris have launched a 111-day trip, for millionaires, for a cool $1million.

 The package is for two people travelling together. The itinerary includes 18 endangered species in 12 destinations covering Africa, Antarctica, Asia and North and South America. 

A percentage of the cost of this trip is donated to each conservation project visited along the way. According to organizers this is mainly a philanthropic venture.

 Let’s wait and see how many millionaires are willing to loosen the purse strings for wildlife.

An app that enables users to identify bird species through uploaded photos

Researchers at Columbia Engineering, led by Computer Science Professor Peter Belhumeur have developed Birdsnap, a new iPhone app which enables users to identify bird species through uploaded photos. It is an electronic field guide featuring 500 of the most common North American bird species. The researchers used computer vision and machine learning techniques to develop the app.

Birdsnap not only identify species, but can also identify which parts of the bird the algorithm uses to identify each species.  Next on the agenda of the researchers is to add ability to recognize bird songs, bringing audio and visual recognition together.

This is indeed great news for birders. If researchers from other parts of the world work on these lines, in another 10 years time we will have a wonderful compendium from across the world. Technology can certainly come in handy in our pursuit of better tools for managing wildlife.

App: https://itunes.apple.com/app/birdsnap/id880461148

The unending mysteries of nature

                                          Pic Credit:: WWF-US / Steve Morello

Nature throws up surprises at unexpected places. Look at migration. Scientists thought they knew everything about migration of animals in Africa till this info about Zebra migration came like a bolt from the blues.

 The latest study using GPS has come up with the startling discovery that it is the Zebras that does the longest migration.They travel between Namibia and Botswana and cover a distance of more than 500 kilometers.  

Till now scientists had believed that Serengeti is the site of the longest and most spectacular migration withmillions of animals—some 750,000 zebras and 1.2 million wildebeests as well as gazelles and elands traveling from the Ngorongoro area in southern Tanzania to the Masai Mara in lower Kenya and returning depending on the rain

The credit for the discovery goes to Robin Naidoo and other scientists from the World Wildlife Fund and Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, in collaboration with Elephants Without Borders and Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

Robin Naidoo says “"Nobody knew that something of this scale, with this much ground covered, was occurring.”

Tribute to a great conservationist

                                                  Pic Credit: African Parks

It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Anthony Hall-Martin, conservation director of African Parks, on21 May 2014. He was 68 years old and was ailing from cancer.

Dr Hall-Martin’s conservation career spanned nearly 50 years. During this period he championed the cause of wildlife conservation in Africa and raised millions of dollars for its benefit. He was a world authority on the African elephant and black rhinoceros and has authored more than ten books and 80 scientific papers. He was directly responsible for establishing six new national parks, including Table Mountain, Agulhas, Namaqua and Mapungubwe.

African Parks CEO Peter Fearnhead described Dr Hall-Martin as “a true gentleman, always dignified, tactful and charming, rarely forceful about his views and self-effacing about hisachievements“.

“Anthony’s life was too short-lived but his achievements were worthy of many lifetimes. He has left behind a giant legacy for the benefit of the world.”

The newly discovered colourful shade lizards from the cloud forests of Ecuador.

                                               Photo Credit: Torres-Carvajal

The species, named Alopoglossus viridiceps, is described in the recent issue of the journal ZooKeys. 

Is protection in Eravikulam National Park slipping down?

I am quite dismayed by the happenings in Eravikulam National Park. There have been reports of unauthorized trekking inside the park. To give substance to this allegation, there was a post in the tripAdvisor by a foreigner claiming to have scaled the Anamudi peak inside the park, and that too, immediately after the birth season of endangered Nilgiri tahr. The link to the post was sent to me by James Zachariah, the former warden of the park. I immediately sent the link to the present warden. The reply I received was that trekking in Anamudi area is prohibited as it is in the core area of the park. I forthwith drew his attention to the fact that a foreigner and several others have claimed to have scaled the peak. I am yet to receive a reply from the warden

I had suggested in a discussion with some forest officials and environmentalists that the warden should immediately write to the tripAdvisor people. An advisory from the warden should have found a place on their website. This is the first thing that I would have done and if there was a delay I would have hauled them over the coals for their lapses. I would have made this news about lapse go viral severely impacting the image of tripAdvisor.

I had also suggested that the warden should put an advisory on the website of Eravikulam National Park. This is yet to materialize. Copy of this advisory should have gone to the tourism department website also.

Times have indeed changed with the newgen people taking over the reins of administration.  Eravikulam had always been managed by men keen about wildlife, men who did not see the job as something that rakes in salary at the end of the month. It was an avocation for them, men who put the welfare of Eravikulam above their personal needs and desires. The postings were invariably done by the chief and the warden was given a free hand. This is how the name of Eravikulam spread worldwide. Even before the rest of the country had even thought about it Eravikulam National Park was a plastic free litter free park. A close link was maintained with High Range Wildlife and Environment Association (HRWEPA). This has also gone in to limbo now.  During the days of men like Mr MRP Lappin, the link between the department and the association was very strong. HRWEPA used to keep hawks eye over Eravikualm, and if they found anything amiss word was immediately passed on to the wildlife warden. I pine for the good old days when there was no political interference in the postings and administration of Eravikulam National Park. All the interferences were very effectively stonewalled. HRWEPA also should take part of the blame. They should not rest on past laurels. I have grave misgivings about the future of Eravikulam National Park

Guys, have you got a solution for this? The dilemma of killing one type of Owl to save another

This post is an afterthought of reading an article by Elizabeth Cook in Sanfrancisco.cbslocal

Killing one species to save other sounds weird, but this is exactly what is happening in Northern California.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to protect the Spotted Owl from the marauding Barred Owl, by shooting them.   Barred Owls are taking over the nesting territory of the native spotted owl, a threatened species. Spotted owl numbers have dropped by 80-percent in the last 20 years.  The plan is to kill 3,600 barred owls over the next four years. The think tanks of USFWS think that this is the only viable solution to the vexed problem.

So, guys, mull over this. If you have any out of the box ideas, that will work, please pass it on to USFWS.

Urban Bird Ecology and Conservation

Here is a great book for professional exologists and casual birders. Edited by Christopher A. Lepczyk and Paige S. Warren this compendium address the present state of this diverse field and examines classic questions while proposing new directions for further study.

The book is highly recommended for scientists, planners, and managers of urban spaces.

Hardcover: 360 pages

Publisher: University of California Press (6 November 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0520273095

ISBN-13: 978-0520273092

Christopher A. Lepczyk is Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

Paige S. Warren is Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.