BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #02

Q&A




Q WHAT CAN I SEE IN...? NATIONAL PARKS OF THE WORLD
ETOSHA

NAMIBIA


A The secret to Etosha is its
scarcity of water. Because it is 4
such a precious commodity,
diverse groups of mammals
3
and birds congregate around
waterholes in easy-to-find
clusters. It’s the key reason
why this national park is
2
regarded as one of the best
places in Africa to see wildlife,
from endangered species
such as the black rhino,
predators including lions and
d
n
1
cheetahs, and herbivores such
as springboks and mountain
zebras. The Okaukuejo and
d
t
Halali waterholes are said to
be especially good for
g
rhinos, while those wanting
to see lions should head
for Okondeka.
Some 340 bird species
have been recorded in
the park, and you've a good
chance of sighting raptors blue cranes. Etosha is named TOP OF THE NATIONAL PARK IN NUMBERS
such as bateleurs and martial after the vast saltpan that TICKLIST
eagles. Both greater and lies at its centre. For most of 86 114 2,500
lesser flamingos gather to the year it’s a dry, unforgiving 1 Mountain zebra
breed in the saltpans towards place, but fills – to an extent – 2 Black rhino WATERHOLES SPECIES OF RESIDENT
the end of the rainy season, when the rains come between 3 Greater flamingo MAMMAL ELEPHANTS
during which you can also see November and April. 4 Etosha Pan



VOLUNTEERING protecting locally important sites – for example woodland, scrub and wet areas. The glade
HOW CAN removing rhododendron and Himalayan is awash with colour in the summer, with
butterflies and dragonflies flitting through
balsam from Breary Marsh Site of Special
I HELP...? Scientific Interest (SSSI), or taking out scrub the orchids, but in recent years it has become
from Adel Moor, one of only two sites in Leeds
increasingly shaded and scrubby and the pond
that is home to common lizards. has dried up. We will coppice trees to allow in
Leeds City Council more light, remove the willow and birch scrub
Leeds Wildlife Volunteers What’s your next project? and hopefully restore the pond.
Over 2018 we plan to restore the glade area
Tell us about your volunteers of Eccup Whin – a site of oak and birch What’s a recent achievement?
We’ve just restored a pond at Chevin Forest
Our group comes from all over Leeds. Many
Illustration by Bex Glover; Jonathan Dunster/Leeds City Council employed workers who can sneak in a day of Breary Marsh. a stand of greater reedmace gave it away. We
Volunteers remove
Park Local Nature Reserve. The pond had been
are retired, but we also have students, people
rhododendrons at
between jobs, stay-at-home parents and self-
unmanaged for years and had silted up, but
volunteering every two weeks. They all have
spent an entire day scooping out vast amounts
of accumulated mud. It was hard and extremely
different motivations: giving something back
to their local area, a love of wildlife, socialising
smelly, but by the end of it we’d created a nice
with like-minded people or gaining experiencee
big hole to fill with water. It will help enormously
towards maintaining and increasing local
in the conservation sector.
amphibian numbers.
What sort of tasks do you do?
We work at council-owned nature sites in and
around the city. Much of what we do involves
www.leeds.gov.uk
February 2018 O JON DUNSTER BBC Wildlife 101

Q&A




Q BOTANY
Q BIOLOGY
What is an ancient Why do animals


woodland indicator? hiccup?

A Hiccups are at least as intriguing as they
A In England and ancient woodlands usually are inconvenient. These noisy gulps and/or
Wales, a woodland is have a greater abundance belches induced by involuntary contractions
deemed ancient if it of plants that spread of the diaphragm seem to be far from useful
has existed with slowly over the in adults, but there’s evidence that they
continuous tree ground, such as serve to help expel air from the stomach in
cover since at wood anemone, suckling infant mammals. Indeed, we get
least 1600 wood sorrel and hiccups less often as we age. They might
(1750 in ransoms, and have truly ancient evolutionary origins. A
Scotland). The those whose hiccup-like reflex enables tadpoles to divert
distinction seeds fall close water to the gills and air to the lungs as they
may seem to the parent, as transition to air-breathing adults – just as
arbitrary, but do those of the our piscine ancestors would have had to do
acknowledges wild service tree. on the way to conquering the land.
Wood anemones
the fact that older are slow to colonise, These plants, Stuart Blackman
tree-ed landscapes advancing just 1.8m along with
tend to have greater in 100 years. guelder rose,
ecological value. wood spurge
To determine the age of a and small leaved lime, are some
woodland, you can consult historic maps of our most common ancient woodland Hiccups help
and records, or you can get out and look indicators. As well as being slow-growers, tadpoles
at its flora. Newer woodlands tend to be they require long-term, stable woodland to transition.
big on the pioneer species – those with cover to survive and are easy to recognise.
windblown seeds, for instance, while Amy-Jane Beer


It’s no joke: sea
otters learn a lot by Q BEHAVIOUR
clowning around
with stones.





A Sea otters have many ways of their eyes closed.
tugging on our heartstrings. And The behaviour is likely to be
going by a plethora of YouTube linked to the animals’ use of
videos, we can now add juggling rocks to detach prey from the
Wood Anemone: Andrew Mason/FLPA; tadpole: Simon Colmer/NPL; sea otter: Bertie Gregory/NPL
stones to the list. To be fair, it’s seabed and break it open. Otters
more keepy-uppy than juggling, form attachments to certain
albeit keepy-uppy with two or stones – keeping them in an
three stones at a time. The otters armpit when not in use – and
lie on their backs and pat the have been known to retain their
stones into the air, catching them favourite ones throughout their
and rolling them skilfully around lives. Recreational juggling may
their chests and necks. And be a playful way of learning how
very impressive it is, too – best to manipulate these tools.
they can even do it with Stuart Blackman













102 BBC Wildlife February 2018

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687 reviews

YOUR FEEDBACK Want to get something off

your chest? This is the place.


EMAIL US FIND US ON FACEBOOK FOLLOW US ON TWITTER E WRITE TO US BBC Wildlife, 2nd Floor,
[email protected] www.facebook.com/wildlifemagazine www.twitter.com/WildlifeMag Tower House, Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BN


LETTER Behind closed doors
OF THE As an animal lover, and an
MONTH experienced, responsible cat
owner, I was dismayed to read
Bob Holderness-Roddam’s
letter “Forgotten Felines”
Really (Your Feedback, December
2017). His view advocates animal
wild cruelty by suggesting that cat
owners should confine their
holiday feline companions indoors,
which restricts their natural
instincts to roam and to
On a recent visit to Sri hunt. Further, to confine a cat
Lanka I was lucky enough indoors is not easy, as anyone
to see some of the planet’s who has had to restrict a cat
most charismatic animals, including a to the indoors (for example, for
blue whale. While on a boat trip off the medical reasons) would testify.
coast of Mirissa, the colossal cetacean After decades of wildlife
appeared in the distance. Every dive observation, it is clear to me
brought the marine mammal closer that the activities of humans
to the vessel, until I could count the destroy other animal life on a
remoras clinging to its skin. much grander scale than cats.
The whole holiday was surreal. My Sharon Painter, Staffordshire
head spun with sightings of technicolour
feathers and formidable talons, and Elephant in the room
hearing babbling calls, but the highlight Regarding “The True Cost
occurred during a safari. of Meat” (Agenda Analysis,
We spent 12 fruitless hours December 2017), I have never
searching for leopards in Charlotte was delighted been a great meat eater and am
Lunugamvehera National to see this blue whale, trying to reduce the amount
Park, near Hambantota. and other exciting of meat in my diet further,
species, in Sri Lanka.
The following day we but that really isn’t the
returned to the park and point. Jonathon Porritt is right
were rewarded with the about reluctance to examine
sight of a leopard lazing the underlying causes of
in a tree. It stirred and environmental degradation.
disappeared from view I was not surprised to find
before emerging from no mention anywhere in
behind a trunk, giving this article of the cause that
us a disdainful look. I underlies all the others, which
stopped breathing, was is the growth of the world’s
completely hypnotised human population. Unless we
and tried not to burst into tackle this, all other efforts to
tears of joy as the big cat save a planet worth living on
sauntered off. are ultimately futile.
Charlotte Varela, Burnley Susan Francis, via email


BLOGGER OF THE MONTH
BE A WINNING WRITER This month’s winner is Annabel Lever
who writes about the wildlife of
The Letter of the Month wins a pair of HI-TEC Altitude Lite II
Sheffield. Read her blog at https://
waterproof boots, worth £60.00, and perfect for hiking. clutteredmindwildheart.blogspot.
They are available in sizes 7–12 for men and 4–8 for women. co.uk Visit www.discoverwildlife.com
For more information, visit www.hi-tec.co.uk to find out how you can join our Local
Patch Reporters Project.
104 BBC Wildlife February 2018

YOUR FEEDBACK




2 Building after Brexit
ONLINE PHOTO CONTEST O Enter our monthly online I found Chris Baines’ article
photographic contest at
THEME: WINTER WILDLIFE www.discoverwildlife.com/ (Brave new world, December
your-photos/photo-contest 2017) very interesting and
a source of hope regarding
agriculture and wildlife
1 2 habitats, post-Brexit.
However, Chris mentioned
the possibility that with the
disappearance of EU subsidies,
it may lead to rewilding in the
uplands. My concern is that
our government’s obsession for
building houses will lead to loss
of farmland in general. Upland
areas will continue to be grazed
as they are the only places that
cannot realistically be built on.
Richard Dowling, via email
3 Help the overlooked

I read Lucy Jones’ article about
standing up for ugly animals
(Hey, good lookin’, November
2017) with intrigue. It shows that
it is easier to raise money for
the conservation of charismatic
and attractive animals. I wonder
1 WHITE-TAILED DEER, Jeremy Blue,
Ontario, Canada whether the promotion of the
interconnectivity of organisms
2 HANUMAN LANGUR, Anuj Raina,
Admedabad, India would prove worthwhile in
3 RED SQUIRREL, A Patscheider, Seefeld, Austria increasing money to conserve
less attractive species.
Fiona Kent, via email

Picture-perfect day BBC Two’s for a number of Louise spotted
f
n
In 2017, I visited a hide Springwatch, nights. Prior to that, a kingfisher
in a private woodland in and find his th in November.
he male and female
had been enjoying
Kirkcudbright in Scotland, with impressive h
heir peanut
three other photographers. The wildlife th
four of us were there all day, knowledge and su
upper. I observed
hem having a few
taking pictures from 7.30am quirky sense of th
until 4pm. I was elated to humour very sq
quabbles with
capture images of red squirrels, appealing. But an
nother young male,
s
ut otherwise all
s
g
g
a
at
re
re
a
rowhawk
,
a
a
ar
a a a a sparrowhawk, a great spotted I feel this is bu
sp
p
at
woodpecker (below) and a range the real Chris, th
he animals looked
of other birds. I took ove a poetic style ex xtremely healthy.
er 1,000
day!
shots on that d combined with However, the
ns,
Paul Watkin a deep understanding of the temperature had dropped
via email natural world. I was particularly considerably. I wonder whether
moved by his sensitive and they stay in their setts more
Touching understated tribute to his (and frequently at this time of year?
g
tribute Scratchy’s) lost companion in Pauline Kavanagh, via email Glorious colour
I would li ike to the Spring 2017 issue. This photo of a kingfisher
say how m Mave Ersu, via email Features Editor Ben Hoare replies: (above) was captured in early
much
I have enj joyed During prolonged bad weather November at a bird hide in
reading C Badger behaviour – such as during thick snow – Worcestershire. It was taken
Chris
Packham’ ’s ‘Notes I live in Cornwall, and spent badgers can stay in their sett and as the sun was starting to go
from an En most of the summer watching go without food for long periods. down, which created a lovely
nglish
BBC
Wood’ in B a family of badgers who feed in But they’re also opportunists, so background light.
Wildlife ove er the my small garden every night. I might simply have been foraging Louise Morris, via email
past few mo onths have a installed a camera and elsewhere. Or perhaps the family
(above right). . I enjoy watching their antics. In had been disturbed in some way, QUIZ ANSWERS (see p113)
always try to w late November I didn’t see them and were being unusually wary. The Wild Words are: 1B, 2A, 3B, 4C, 5B, 6A
watch
BBC Wildlife 105

LOCAL BLOGGER OF THE YEAR


PATCH AWARDS 2017 WINNER!






BLOGGER Last year, nature bloggers kept us enthralled with their wildlife tales
AWARDS 2017 and now our Bloggers of the Month have been whittled down to one.



he 13 Local Patch
Reporters who won BBC
TWildlife’s Blogger of the
Month competition throughout
2017 made up our Blogger of
the Year Awards 2017 shortlist.
The judging panel of four
natural history TV presenters
– Gillian Burke, Lizzie Daly,
Ben Garrod and Miranda
Krestovnikoff – had the tricky
task of picking an overall winner.
The 13 Local Patch blogs they
read covered a range of wildlife
topics, from tracking the
seasonal changes in a garden
to visiting UK nature reserves.
Here we announce the
overall winner and the five
runners-up. To see the full list
of winning entries visit www.
discoverwildlife.com/news/
blogger-awards-2017

YOU CAN BE A LOCAL
PATCH BLOGGER TOO!
Post your blog updates on our forum:
www.discoverwildlife.com/forum A rare sea slug
enjoys a fish
egg supper in a
WINNER Cornish rockpool.


Heather Buttivant
I’m lucky to be part of a them when they’re close to
Cornwall, UK JUDGE’S COMMENT
growing network of keen hatching you can see each
Cornish Rock Pools citizen scientists recording baby fish staring out, its tail Finally, an in-depth blog
cornishrockpools.com
wildlife and promoting marine curled tight around its head about intertidal wildlife!
Cornish conservation. Knowing that my like a scarf. In May, my son Everyone loves rock-
marine life is blog is inspiring others to try and I were looking at rock pooling – but this blog
surprisingly rockpooling and to protect our goby eggs, which formed actually highlights how
rich. People beaches keeps me going on a black-specked carpet of important rockpools are.
often find it those freezing winter days when grey. It was only when I saw a I’m really pleased to see a
astonishing that any sane person would stay at tentacle move that I realised platform for the public to
it’s possible to see anemones, home in the warm! that I had discovered the learn about what they’ve
corals, starfish, lobsters, sharks very rare sea slug, Calma seen and even contribute
and bizarre sea slugs with just a Highlight of the year gobioophaga, feeding on to science. Brilliant!
decent tide and a pair of wellies. Fish eggs are fabulous them. The species is under LIZZIE DALY
My blog shares the thrill of things to photograph in a centimetre long and was
discovering this alien world. early summer. If you catch perfectly camouflaged.



106 BBC Wildlife February 2018

BLOGGER AWARDS





THE JUDGES


GILLIAN BURKE LIZZIE DALY BEN GARROD MIRANDA
is a biologist and is a wildlife and is an evolutionary KRESTOVNIKOFF is
presenter on BBC children’s TV biologist, great ape a biologist, trained
Two’s Springwatch and presenter. She is completing conservationist and presenter. diver and wildlife expert on
Autumnwatch. She lives in her Masters degree in the He regularly contributes to BBC One’s The One Show. She
Cornwall with her two children. electroreception of arthropods. BBC Wildlife’s Q&A section. is also president of the RSPB.




After hearing them RUNNERS-UP foraged food. I’d like my blog to
for months, Alex enthuse people and encourage
finally saw one of Dara
his local little owls. them to protect wildlife.
Fermanagh, UK Highlight of the year
Young Fermanagh Naturalist Working with farmers in Kent
youngfermanaghnaturalist.com as we have managed to double
I live in a beautiful part the number of lapwing chicks
of Northern Ireland, fledged from their land.
and want to celebrate
its beauty. Observing Elliot McCandless and
and writing my thoughts has Kirsten Brewster
become a very important part of Dundee, UK
my life (I have Asperger's). The The Wildlife Journals
platform has become a valuable thewildlifejournals.com
communication tool. We started this blog
Highlight of the year to share some
It has to be observing the hen incredible wildlife
harriers on my local patch, encounters we had
especially when I saw two males during an 15-week trip abroad.
fighting for territory. Since returning to Scotland we
have tried to see some of the
Alex creatures on our doorstep and
Oxfordshire, UK shed some light on their
Appleton Wildlife Diary conservation status.
appletonwildlifediary.wordpress.com Highlight of the year
My blog is a regular While exploring a loch for a
account of what place to photograph grebes a
Our runner-up blogs happens on a local lone otter appeared. We’ll never
feature lapwings
(left) and explore patch in Oxfordshire. forget the sight of it staring
local nature sites. I use a camera-trap and back at us through the reeds.
photography to capture local and
visiting wildlife, from insects and Celia Dillow
birds, to a range of mammals, Somerset, UK
including deer and badgers. Tracks and Trails and
Highlight of the year Puppy Dog Tales
My wildlife highlight was finally tracksntrailsnpuppiestales.blogspot.co.uk
finding a local little owl after My blog celebrates
months of hearing it, and even the birds and beasts of
one of this year's young. the gorgeous
Somerset Levels and
Carol Donaldson moors. It is an area of beauty and
Kent, UK rare habitats, which is full of
Nature Girl history and astonishing wildlife.
naturegirlblogdotcom.wordpress.com Highlight of the year
My blog is a mixed bag While visiting Aller Moor, a
Elliot and Kirsten of my passions and turquoise dart flew towards
were thrilled to interests, which me and away. The kingfisher
see an otter while include my work, repeated this until I moved and
visiting a loch.
garden wildlife and recipes for it could return to its fishing post.



February 2018 BBC Wildlife 107

INSIDE THE IMAGE





POLAR BEARS SVALBARD


The remote, rugged
archipelago of Svalbard is
home to a variety of Arctic
wildlife, but its most famous denizen
has to be the polar bear. In winter the
large ice floes surrounding the islands
provide vital hunting grounds for the
species’ key food source: seals. If the
ice doesn't form, the animals become
marooned on the islands where they
risk starving to death.
CLOSE FOR COMFORT
While our ship was anchored off
Duvefjorden, we suddenly spotted a
female with a two-year-old cub. The
pair became aware of our presence and
started to walk towards us, driven by
hunger and, perhaps, curiosity. As they
approached, the bears were distracted
by a nearby leak from the ship’s
kitchen, which had stained a patch of
snow. They paused to lick it, pressing
their legs together and adopting 1
synchronous, almost identical positions.
Initially, the bears were a significant 3
distance away, giving me time to
mount a 200–400mm lens and
photograph them as they wandered
towards us. The animals eventually
came so close that even the minimum
focal length of 200mm was too tight to
include any of their surroundings.
This, however, allowed me this
unexpected close-up, which I came to
call Polar Pas de Deux. I chose black
and white to symbolise how pollution
casts its shadows on immaculate
natural environments.






DATA FILE

CAMERA Canon
EOS-1D X
4
LENS 200-400mm, f4
FOCAL LENGTH
200mm
EXPOSURE 1/640 sec,
f/9, ISO 6400
EXPOSURE
COMPENSATION +0.67


108 BBC Wildlife February 2018

PHOTO ANALYSIS




THE PHOTOGRAPHER
EILO ELVINGER LIE DOWN
The closer the bears got,
Based in Luxembourg, Eilo is a wildlife and travel photographer, 1 the wider my shooting angle
became. Had I taken this shot
and was a category winner in Wildlife Photographer of the Year
standing up with a tripod, I’d
2017. See more of her images at www.eilopict.com have captured only the tops of
their backs. But it was their legs
I wanted. So I lay on the floor
beside a hole in the ship’s hull,
positioning my lens so it could
‘see’ through the hole. It was the
closest I could get to horizontal.
DIM IT DOWN
White bears on white
2 snow meant the overall
reflectance was very bright.
No matter which metering
(light measuring) option I tried,
the camera would rectify the
over-brightness by under-
2 exposing the scene. I manually
compensated for this by nudging
up the exposure compensation
from its default of 0 to +0.67.

5 ADAPTING LIGHT
SENSITIVITY
3 The bears were relatively
still, so I could have used a long-
ish shutter speed. However, with
the ship’s vibrations I had to use
a shorter one (1/640). Given the
short focusing distance, I also
needed a sufficient depth of field
(f/9) to ensure that both front
and back legs would be sharp.
With these settings and the low
light levels, I had to boost the ISO
speed – which makes cameras
more sensitive to light – to 6400.
GAINING GRAIN
Using a high ISO can
4 add ‘noise’ (grain and
pixelation) to an image. This is
not always desirable in colour
photos, but can enhance texture
in monochrome shots – here the
mushy snow, sharp claws, wet
paws and fluffy fur.
SUPER
SYMMETRY
5 The key to this image is
the symmetry. I closed in on the
bears’ legs, framing and cropping
so that each animal commands
the same amount of space.



+ FIND OUT MORE
For more photo advice visit
www.discoverwildlife.com/
wildlife-nature-photography/
tips-and-techniques


BBC Wildlife 109

YOUR PHOTOS

PHOTO
CHOICE
YOUR PHOTOS



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


FROLICKING IN THE MIST UNDER ATTACK
1In November I went for a walk near my 2I’ve been coming to the
home to enjoy the morning mist. Not long Hesserghatta grasslands in the
after sunrise I saw roe deer on the brow of outskirts of Bangalore, India, for about
a hill overlooking Salisbury Cathedral. They seven years. We see a lot of short-toed
spotted me first before running off towards snake eagles hunting here, but this
the woods. I took a few pictures, managing time I managed to capture a truly
to focus on the ungulates and not the misty unique moment. After locating its prey,
background, and even captured a couple of the predator usually swoops down and
mid-jump shots. I wasn’t sure if they would be rapidly flies away with the kill. However,
in focus, but I was delighted with the result. this individual took on a feisty rat
Martin Cook, Salisbury, UK snake that fought back, and eventually
the raptor abandoned the hunt. It was
such an exciting duel to witness!
Vikram Ramesh, Bangalore, India

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3Last year, my husband and I journeyed are water-repellent
to Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park in to protect against
Madagascar to try and see the Endangered humidity, while
Verreaux’s sifaka. Our guide warned us remaining cool.
www.paramo.
that our chances of seeing the lemurs may
co.uk
be slim but we saw a group of 10-strong
off the main path, which included this
young male hanging from the branches. It SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS
was truly incredible to have such a close O Enter our Your Photos competition and
your image may run in the magazine: www.
encounter with these rare animals. discoverwildlife.com/submit-your-photos
Rebecca Noble, Worcester, UK












DEEP IN THOUGHT
4I trekked with a tour group through
Bwindi National Park, Democratic Republic
of the Congo, for about four hours in search
of gorillas. When we eventually found the
primates, I was thrilled to see a sleeping
silverback, several females and a couple
of youngsters playing boisterously. The
silverback began to stir and I captured his
pensive expression. It really was an honour
to see these magnificent animals in the wild.
Andy Edge, Essex, UK


110 BBC Wildlife February 2018

SHARING THE NEWS
5 During a camping holiday in Cornwall last year, my
fiancée and I were walking through a nature reserve,
keeping an eye out for reptiles. We spotted this beautiful,
basking adder on a pile of dry vegetation and I spent over
half an hour lying on my front, torn between getting a great
shot and avoiding a bite! It was my first adder sighting so I
couldn’t wait to share my picture with family and friends.
Jason Parry, Totnes, UK








BREAKFAST IS SERVED
6I visited a wetland in West Bengal,
India, early one morning to photograph
watercocks, which belong to the rail and
crake family. While I waited, a group of pied
starlings arrived, flying around me in a flurry
of excitement. After a while an adult began
to feed a juvenile and I managed to capture
the behaviour on camera. It reminded me
that every little thing is beautiful, no matter
how common it may be.
Bijoy Adhikary, Kolkata, India


February 2018 BBC Wildlife 111



PUZZLES



CROSSWORD Win a prize with WILDWORDS
our brain-teaser.
Compiled by RICHARD SMYTH




Answers
in our
April 2018
issue

1) the definition for at hack
A taking wool from a dead sheep
DECEMBER ANSWERS B a hawk before it has become
Across: 1 Amoeba, 4 acclimatised and can hunt
Baobab, 8 Remoras, 9 on its own
Sunbeam, 11 Damask C employed marking
rose, 12 auks, 13 coati, 14 unsatisfactorily shorn sheep
Stallion, 16 Soya bean,
18 Silky, 20 Ashy, 21 2) the animal you associate
Quadrupeds, 23 Linseed, with the adjective dipterous
24 Alpines, 25 Lemons,
26 Ganges. A a fly Find out
Down: 1 Akepa, 2 Odonata, B a goldfinch the answers
3 Black kite, 5 Azure, 6 C a pheasant on p105
Bobtail, 7 Black lory, 10
Poison oak, 13 Crossbill, 3) the offspring of a cormorant
15 Australia, 17 Alyssum,
19 Lapwing, 21 Queen, A a keet
22 Dyer’s. B a shaglet
C a fledgling
DECEMBER WINNER
Ann Stainsby West Sussex 4) the sound made by bitterns
ACROSS mountains of South America (6) 6 Species of hammerhead shark, A a chirp
8 26 Old name for a white-tailed eagle Sphyrna tiburo (10) B a squeak
8 Term describing taiga (6)
9 River of Wensleydale, noted for or other sea eagle (4) 7 Eurasian plant well-known for its C a boom
plants such as thistle broomrape 27 Yellow-billed seabird, Larus canus, effects on felines (6)
and marsh cinquefoil (3) with greenish-yellow legs (6, 4) 14 Plant of East Asia also known as 5) the name for a female
10 Marwick ___, Orkney reserve (4) 30 Genus of trees and shrubs to Japanese spikenard (3)
11 Scavenging insect of the which the maple belongs (4) 15 North American shrub of the seahorse
Dermestidae family (4, 6) 31 Prefix meaning ‘environment’ that genus Viburnum (10) A a queen
1
12 Plant with long, trailing stems – a might come before -friendly (3) 19 Asian bird also known as the
B a seamare
member of the genus Vitis, perhaps (4) 32 The ___ river dolphin of South horned pheasant (8)
C a dam
13 Plant in the amaranth family, native America is also known as the boto (6) 20 Large, omnivorous parrot of New
to the Andes and widely cultivated (6) Zealand’s South Island (3)
1
16 Deer-like hoofed mammal of Africa DOWN 21Joy ___, conservationist and 6) the collective noun for
and Eurasia, such as the gazelle (8) 1 Sociable UK crow species (4) author of Born Free (7) iguanas
17 ___ chough, traditional name for 2 Flowerless plant that reproduces 23 2013 BBC natural history series Henny Brandsma/Minden Pictures/FLPA
A a mess
the red-billed corvid Pyrrhocorax from spores (4) narrated by David Attenborough (6)
B a tiding
pyrrhocorax (7) 3 Colourful, noisy corvids of North 24 Hampshire river known for water
4
C a huddle
18 The ___-headed seedeater is a America, Cyanocitta cristata (4, 4) vole, white-clawed crayfish and
sparrow-like finch of southern Africa (7) 4 brook lamprey (6) Questions set by ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD
4 Neotropical forest bird of the
8
22 Spotted beetle of the family trogon family (7) 28 Pacific island notoriously invaded
Coccinellidae (8) 5 5 The ___ locust is known its vast, by the brown tree snake (4)
5
25 The rare ___ flamingo is native to the voracious swarms (6) 29 Big cat, males have manes (4) COMPETITION WINNERS
The Lost Words giveaway: Nick Lynch, Charlotte
s
Boyle, Fiona Shepherd, Anna Shoosmith and
WIN TWO WILDLIFE BOOKS Mandy Betts.
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February 2018 BBC Wildlife 113

l
Ta
Tales





from the
bh
bh
bush A celebration of national
park rangers in Uganda
hots up when fire-eaters
entertain the crowd.
A WILD WORLD OF
RIPPING YARNS




WHO?
LIZ BOURNE is
co-project leader
of Queen Elizabeth
Parks Project, a
community
conservation initiative.
WHAT?
FIRE-EATERS AND
LOG CROCODILES
WHERE?
UGANDA








LIZ JOINS A COLOURFUL CIRCUS AND LEARNS HOW TO
CAPTURE A ‘CROCODILE’ ON WORLD RANGER DAY.



riving along the pot-holed entertainers and armed rangers. There was While fire-wielding daredevils entertained
road, past bush fires and the no one to watch us, other than the occasional the crowds by rolling the flames over their
occasional buffalo, it was boda-boda driver and a fish eagle. bodies and into their trousers, I bumped into
difficult to imagine what was We arrived in Kikorongo, a small town on a ranger friend who told me he’d heard some
D ahead. “It’s going to be a circus!” the way to Kasese. As the local community locals were trying to sell ivory in the village
one of my fellow volunteers joked. looked on, we donned surgical gloves and he was waiting to nab them. Even on
It was late July and I was in western and participated in the ‘corporate social what was supposed to be a day of fun he was
Uganda with volunteers from the Queen responsibility’ part of the day – litter picking. helping to protect Uganda’s wildlife.
Elizabeth Parks Project. We were gathering Rangers are not always considered the The final part of the day was held at the
for World Ranger Day, an international good guys. Conflict between national parks national park headquarters in Katunguru.
event that celebrates the work that rangers and local communities is rife, and rangers Officiators acknowledged that being a park
do and remembers those who have been and their families are often discriminated ranger is a dangerous job, and candles were
injured or lost their lives in the line of against. Positive action can go some way lit for the estimated 1,000 around the world
duty. Such an event hadn’t been held in to changing perceptions. And so, hot and that have been killed in the line of duty
Uganda before, but with some international sweaty, we picked up a mountain of rubbish. over the past 10 years.
encouragement officials had formed a After an hour of litter picking, we drove We were then given a demonstration
committee and drawn up a schedule of south and arrived in Kyambura to repeat of how to capture a crocodile. A large log
events. And we were to be part of it. the activity. The heat was now intense, so it played the supporting role as a ranger
Coming to a halt where a small group only seemed right that the acrobats should showed us how to grab the ‘creature’ and
of rangers were gathered, dressed in full start fire-eating... secure it, using ropes and a roll of tape.
camouflage and carrying their Fire-eaters, jugglers and log
AK-47s, we stumbled out of our “RANGERS ARE NOT ALWAYS crocodiles – sometimes
vehicle to the sound of a brass conservation work really is
band, which was accompanied CONSIDERED THE GOOD GUYS. just like a circus.
Meg Schofield by acrobats and stilt walkers. CONFLICT BETWEEN NATIONAL O Do you have a tale that you would like
We formed a line and
proceeded to march behind the PARKS AND COMMUNITIES IS RIFE.”
to share? If so, please email a synopsis of
your idea to [email protected]
114 BBC Wildlife February 2018



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