BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #11

WILD NEWS






CONSERVATION REPORT RED LIST

STATUS

Greenturtle ENDANGERED



This month, the conservation spotlight

falls on a megaherbivore and its diet.





Where does it live? native seagrasses, the turtles are giving
The Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a Halophila a competitive edge and helping
sea turtle that lives in the waters of the it spread to new areas. The invasion is
Atlantic salmon are
Caribbean. Its name comes from the happening faster in grazed regions.
starting to return to
colour of its body fat, resulting from the the Elan River.
adults’ diet of seagrass and algae. Can it be stopped?
Halophila is mainly a problem in tropical RIVER ECOLOGY
What’s the problem? waters. In the Mediterranean, it cannot
A seagrass from the Red Sea, introduced compete with the native seagrasses Gravel aids
to the eastern Caribbean in 2002, has adapted to cooler conditions. We can’t
already spread halfway across the region. do much to stop it spreading. But we river recovery
Halophila stipulacea is replacing the native can create conditions in which the
seagrass, which provides food and shelter native seagrasses flourish by addressing n August, juvenile Atlantic salmon
for many other organisms. Between 2011 local environmental problems such as Iwere spotted in the Elan River in
and 2017, Halophila spread from six to pollution, dredging and water clarity. mid-Wales for the first time in more
20 per cent of our monitoring sites on than 40 years. It’s an important step
Bonaire Island, while native seagrass Can the turtles adapt? in the recovery of the river, which had
declined by 33 per cent. The turtles may be able to switch diets gradually been depleted of aquatic life
from seagrass to algae, although that’s following the construction of the Elan
Why is that bad news for turtles? not straightforward because they carry a Valley dams in 1904. Gravel has played
Halophila is far less nutritious than the specialist cast of gut microbes that help a huge role in this turnaround.
native seagrasses, and is largely ignored them digest seagrass in particular. Our The recent discovery comes in the
by grazing green turtles. They’ll only eat it concern is that this invasion is happening wake of a three-year initiative by the
if there’s nothing else available, and then faster than they can adapt. S Blackman Wye and Usk Foundation, along with
they have to put more effort into grazing partners Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and
to meet their nutritional needs. This leads DR MARJOLIJN JA CHRISTIANEN Natural Resources Wales, to restore the
to slower growth rates and delayed sexual is assistant professor at Wageningen ecology of 7km of this tributary of the
maturity, which is significant in this slow- University in the Netherlands. Wye, near the dams. These structures
developing species. had prevented riverbed gravel flowing
FIND OUT MORE Journal of Ecology: down to the lower Elan, while existing
Turtlesaremakingmattersworse? https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley. sediment had been washed away,
Yes. By preferentially grazing on the com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.13021 leaving little habitat to support life.
Under the initiative, 2,300 tonnes of
new gravel have been deposited in the
The green turtle’s native river over the past two years, with regular
seagrass diet has given
a non-native seagrass top-ups planned. Initial surveys in 2017
a competitive edge. revealed invertebrates in the gravelled
area, while adult salmon were detected
Sa mon: L nda P tk n/2020VISION/NPL; turtle: Laura Dinraths/Shutterstock
spawning there last winter. Salmon and
brown trout fry were spotted near Elan
village in August – the first time they’ve
been seen there since the 1970s.
Tony Harrington, director of
environment at Dwr Cymru Welsh
Water, says: “We are delighted with the
results of this project. This is a great
example of where our funding to restore
a habitat has delivered real ecological
improvements.” C Vaughan


FIND OUT MORE Gravelling
the Elan: wyeuskfoundation.org




November 2018 BBC Wildlife 51

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WILDNEWS








SEABIRDS
Cracking the


guillemot’s egg



veryone knows guillemots’ pointy eggs
Eare shaped to roll in an arc to stop them
falling from their cliff-ledge nests. Trouble
is, it’s not true – they roll in too wide an arc.
Last year, Tim Birkhead of the University
of Sheffield found evidence that the shape
is more about hygiene on guano-encrusted
ledges (BBC Wildlife, May 2017).
Now, Birkhead has published what he
believes is a better explanation: “While
doing fieldwork, the idea popped into my
head that the shape of a guillemot egg
would be more stable on a sloping ledge.
Over 50 per cent of guillemot ledges are
sloping. I tried it and it worked.”
Razorbills’ eggs, which are more
classically egg-shaped, were far less secure
on a slope. “More rigorous experiments
confirmed that the more steeply sided the
egg, the more likely it was to stay put.”
The shape might yet turn out to serve
multiple functions: extra strength, as a
defence against the impacts of crash-
landing parents, included. And Birkhead’s
not ruling out the hygiene hypothesis. “It’s FIND OUT MORE
clear that the blunt ends, containing the The Auk: Ornithological
chicks, stay relatively clean.” SB Advances https://doi.
org/10.1642/AUK-18-38.1





NEW SPECIES DISCOVERY IN NUMBERS



Clistopyga 50,000


crassicaudata pairs of tawny owls live in the
UK,down 30 per cent in 25
years.Take part in theTawny Owl
WHAT IS IT? The egg-laying
Calling Survey if you hear one
organs – or ovipositors – of ants,
between now and March 2019.
bees and wasps double up as
stings. Some species put them
to other uses. Close relatives of 47
this newly discovered ichneumon
is the number of years that Moby
wasp use theirs to entangle the silk
– the oldest captive dolphin –
surrounding the exit holes of spiders’ This preserved
nests before stinging the inhabitant and specimen of was held in captivity before dying
Clistopyga shows in Nuremberg Zoo in Germany.
laying an egg on its paralysed body. The
its large stinger.
precise function of the new species’ huge
ovipositor is not yet known. 12.5m
WHERE IS IT? This species, found in Peru,
ducks,geese and swans will be Guillemot: BSIP/Getty; clistopyga: Kari Kaunisto
is one of seven new species of Clistopyga
arriving this autumn to spend the
discovered in a narrow zone of vegetation SOURCE Zootaxa: www.
winter in the UK,according to the
between the Andes mountain chain and mapress.com/j/zt/article/
British Trust for Ornithology.
the Amazonian rainforest. view/zootaxa.4442.1.5





November 2018 BBC Wildlife 53

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*Closes for entries 11.30am GMT on Thursday 13 December.

WILDNEWS






MEET THE SCIENTIST



WilliamReid




Marine biologist, Newcastle University, UK





Biologist William Reid is
researching the creatures
that live in the deep seas

and Antarctica, to ind out Will studies species such
as the deep sea Patagonian
just how climate change toothfish. Below: newly

and mining could afect discovered anemones near
a hydrothermal vent.
this under-explored and
remote environment.





s with many
biologists, Will’s
inspiration began
with a man with
whom we are all
Afamiliar: David
Attenborough. After watching Life
in the Freezer as a teenager, Will
became fascinated with the waters
around the Antarctic. He yearned
to explore this environment, so S Life forms in the deep, seafloor is rich in metal. “These
decided to study marine biology dark ocean or in freezing metals are found as nodules or
at university. This gave him the in chimney structures called
opportunity to work on video seas are important to us. T hydrothermal vents which are
footage of Antarctic fish and crabs, scattered across the seafloor,”
while giving him his first glimpse explains Will. “They can be
into the deep sea. harvested by underwater machines
After years of study and work on our oceans. Will has seen this at which break or scoop them off the
boats and in remote field stations, first hand: “We are now finding seafloor. This process results in
Will is now a research associate at microplastics in the stomachs sediment being mixed into the water
Newcastle University. He studies of animals living at some of the column, which could negatively
the deep sea and Antarctic, and is deepest locations on the planet impact on the animals living in
increasingly conscious about how including those found in the Pacific these areas.”
Will and toothfish: Charlotte Routh; anemones and scalpelliform barnacles: NERC CHESSO Consortium
humans affect these fragile areas. Ocean’s Mariana Trench.” Plastic is Will’s passion for nature drives
Why study life that lurks in a growing problem in our oceans his work. He reflects on how his
these places and what connection and one of the own research can help to conserve
do we have to them? Will explains places where it these hidden worlds. “The Antarctic
that while we may never see the will accumulate and deep sea are fragile ecosystems
life forms in these areas, they are is in the deep sea. and are important for sustaining
important to us because they affect There are other life on Earth. This means that they
marine food webs: “The deep sea threats too. Deep really need to be protected from
and Antarctic will be impacted sea mining the impacts of climate change and
by climate change and human may occur in human activity. I hope my work
activity. This will have knock- areas where the will help inform the people with
on effects on phytoplankton in responsibility over them to make
surface waters, which in turn will good decisions about protecting these
influence food supply for animals areas for the future.” Niki Rust
in those habitats – potentially
changing entire food webs.” FIND OUT MORE Read
We’ve all heard the depressing about plastics in the ocean:
news about plastics entering https://bit.ly/2oMCUjo




November 2018 BBC Wildlife 55

WILDNEWS





OBITUARY
OBITUARY
Peter Melchett
Johnny Kingdom (1948-2018)

(1939-2018)

or more than 40 years, Peter
n 6 September, Britain lost one of was hard-won. Gleaned through FMelchett provided a unique quality of
Oits most resounding characters. life-long experience of many country leadership within the UK environment
Johnny died when his digger tipped professions: farm worker, forester, movement – as a Government minister
over on his nature reserve in Devon. grave digger, quarryman – even under Labour in the 1970s, the face and
He was 79 years old. poacher. He was an old-world inspirational voice of Greenpeace through
Johnny will be remembered for his countryman, making it all the more the 1990s, and as the hugely influential
boundless enthusiasm for the wildlife remarkable that in his late 60s he was policy director of the Soil Association
of Exmoor, his beloved home habitat. able to reinvent himself as a television right up to his much-lamented death at
His television programmes were presenter of his own successful show the end of August. But he had a much
about wildlife, but were memorable with over three million viewers. wider presence in the movement,
for Johnny himself. His broad Devon Johnny was a gentleman, always through the Ramblers, World Wildlife
brogue, camouflage suits and leather courteous, self-deprecating, pleased Fund, Wildlife & Countryside Link, and a
cowboy hat with its bundle of pheasant to meet new friends – and huge fun. host of other organisations and networks.
feathers, made him a screen natural. His laugh was memorable and deeply During that time, he was consistently
His love of wildlife was not infectious. He will be sorely missed. radical in his views, unfalteringly polite
scientific, it was passionate; having Sir John Lister-Kaye in his advocacy, with a streak of irreverent
left school at 15, Johnny’s knowledge humour that could lift the most tedious
meeting. This made him a much-admired
colleague, a highly respected adversary
and a very special friend to many.
Jonathon Porritt


Peter Melchett:
radical and
inspirational.










Johnny Kingdom’s
knowledge of wildlife
was gleaned through
years of experience.





Nature in brief

Into the rough Giant leaps

Controversial plans for a golf Basking sharks can leap from Johnny K ngdom: Chr stopher Jones/A amy; Peter Me chett: Eastern Da
course on wildlife-rich sand the water as vigorously as
dunes at Coul Links in north-east their feistier cousins, the great
Scotland are being reviewed whites, reports Biology Letters.
for the Scottish Government. The function of this rather out-
Two reporters are considering of-character behaviour is not
the case, and a public inquiry is known. It may be a social display nuthatch: Matthew Gardner/UEA; basking shark: Bren Whelan; murmeration: David Williams/ BIA/ Minden/Getty
likely next spring. or a way of removing parasites.



Signs of life Your tweets count y Press; Cou
The Bahama nuthatch, a bird Twitter posts can provide nks: A
feared extinct after a hurricane reliable and accurate data
devastated its pine forest habitat for the study of starling
in 2016, has been rediscovered murmurations or the emergence
on Grand Bahama. It’s thought of flying ants according to a son Sear /RSPB Scot and;
only two remain, though, and recent report published by the
there are fears both are male. University of Gloucestershire.




56 BBC Wildlife November 2018

W DNEWS





BRITISH WILDLIFE TRUTH OR FICTION?

Hedgehog

headcount Dosealsneed



o hedgehogs fare better in the town tobeshot
Dor the countryside? The answer
might seem obvious, but new research
suggests they are actually more likely to toprotect
live on the edge of urban or suburban
areas than in an agricultural landscape.
The study set out to investigate how
rural hedgehogs were doing in England
and Wales, and its findings suggest Seals are reported to devastate
they are increasingly drawn to human salmon farm stocks, but what are
habitation. “The greater the built
environment, the greater the chance of the alternatives to killing them
finding hedgehogs,” says the paper’s and do they work? Biologist David
lead author Ben Williams. Ainsley reveals the truth.
Williams says farmland may now not
provide sufficient invertebrates (such
as earthworms) for hedgehogs, perhaps THE SHORT ANSWER IS NO. It is cause disturbance,
Producers say
because they are declining as a result of certainly true that seals can damage stress and hearing
the damage
pesticide use. In contrast, urban road nets and kill salmon in Scottish seals cause injuries,” Ainsley
verges – despite the danger posed by waters; salmon producers say they to salmon can says. “And for
busy highways – could offer Britain’s cause “millions of pounds’ worth” be extensive. echo-locating
favourite mammal food and shelter. of damage every year. But they also mammals [such as
The study also revealed that hedgehogs accept that shooting seals should only porpoises], hearing injuries are a death
do less well where badger population be an action of last resort and say they sentence.” One study found that the use
density is higher. “Nationally, our study aspire for it to become unnecessary. of ADDs had excluded porpoises from
found hedgehogs in about 21 per cent They have made progress towards this 87 per cent of a 990km area of sea.
2
of areas surveyed,” Williams says. “We goal in recent years: they say 49 seals Ainsley has submitted a complaint
estimate that if we were to remove all were legally shot in 2017, an 84 per to the European Commission about
badgers from the UK, occupancy would cent reduction on the number in 2011. the use of ADDs because he says
rise to about 32 per cent.” David Ainsley, a marine biologist they contravene both Scottish and
The People’s Trust for Endangered European legislation.
Species (PTES), which co-funded the S Shooting seals would be Scottish Natural Heritage
study along with the British Hedgehog states: “In Scottish
Preservation Society, said the results completely unnecessary inshore waters, it is an
pointed to a “wider land-management were salmon farmers offence to intentionally
issue in our countryside”, affecting both or recklessly kill, injure,
hedgehogs and badgers. JF to use double netting. T capture, disturb or harass
a cetacean.”
FIND OUT MORE The Scottish Salmon

Scientific Reports: nature.com/articles/ who operates a tour-guiding business Producers Organisation (SSPO) says
s41598-018-30130-4 on Scotland’s west coast, says its members adhere to a code of
shooting seals would be completely practice, which recommends the use
unnecessary were salmon farmers to of ‘seal blinds’ (to prevent seals from
You’re more likely
to see hedgehogs use double netting to contain their seeing the fish at the bottom of the
in urban areas than fish, as they do in British Columbia. pens), heavy tensioning of the nets
the countryside. Ainsley believes there is a bigger and ADDs. “The damage seals cause to
issue at stake, however. Many salmon salmon is severe and extensive, killing
farms – 121 out of 172 listed by Marine many by taking single bites out of each
Scotland – routinely use acoustic fish then leaving them to die,” said the
deterrent devices (ADDs), which send SSPO in a statement. JF
out blasts of noise to keep seals away
from fish pens. He says this either DAVID AINSLEY is a marine
damages the hearing of seals and biologist,tour operator,diver and Seal: Chris Gomersall/Alamy; hedgehog: Hugh Clark/FLPA
European protected species such as underwater cameraman.
porpoises, dolphins and whales, or
forces them to abandon whole areas WANT TO COMMENT? Email
because of the noise. “These ADDs can [email protected]





November 2018 BBC Wildlife 57

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

NEWS FEATURE




























Right: a Dutch town is
trialling the replacement of
white street lights with red
ones. Above: The Netherlands
Institute of Ecology is testing
red street lights to see if they
better protect light-shy bats,
such as the Natterer’s.







lastic and air pollution have and European populations, live under
been making headlines, but light-polluted skies.
there’s mounting concern A report last year in the journal Global
about another insidious Change Biology warned that the impacts of
pollutant – light. Globally, sky glow on wildlife and ecosystems were
light pollution is growing on poorly understood. It was already known
P average by six per cent each that white, blue and green light were bad
year, with a rising proportion coming from for most bats – but it had also been widely
LEDs. Now, a new study suggests we should assumed that a switch to red light was a
reconsider how we illuminate the night if better solution, because many bats were,
we are to protect bats and other sensitive supposedly, not significantly affected by it.
creatures active after dark. Now it appears that’s not the case.
But just how bad is light pollution for
nocturnal animals? The Bat Conservation Migratory bats
Trust (BCT) has warned there are still big New research published in the journal
gaps in current knowledge and, following Ecology and Evolution reports a major issue
new research, is recommending more care which has been largely overlooked – bat
is taken over how we use artificial lighting. migration – and raises concerns about the
Bats are among the world’s most sensitive wider impacts of red lighting, too.
nocturnal mammals and have for several The authors found that some migratory
decades found themselves increasingly in British and mainland European bat species
the spotlight due to light pollution. A changed their behaviour due to red light,
world map of artificial ‘sky glow’ revealed and were adversely affected by green and
in 2016 that 80 per cent of the world’s white light. Their warning suggests that
people, including 99 per cent of the US red lighting may have serious unexplored







You don’t have to put o











Report by Alex Morss Light pollution is a growing problem. Now


there may not be any such thing as truly








60 BBC Wildlife November 2018

NEWS FEATURE





































































































n the red light ...











new evidence suggests that


‘bat-friendly’ lighting. Bat & light: Kamiel Spoelstra/NIOO-KNAW








November 2018 BBC Wildlife 61

NEWS FEATURE









How does artiicial light afect other wildlife?


INVERTEBRATES BIRDS

Light pollution disturbs Several species such as
feeding, breeding, robins and blackbirds sing
predation and movement. under streetlights without
Up to one-third of moths clear harm, but others – such
lured to night lights are as long-eared owls and black-
estimated to die as a tailed godwits – are sensitive
result. Egg-laying female to artificial lighting. Bird
insects may be attracted strikes on tall, lit buildings are
away from water. a major cause of mortality.




Sky glow: around
80 per cent of the
world’s people live
under light-
polluted skies.












Globally, light Lightbulb: Mitsuhiko Imamori/Minden/FLPA; blackbird: Philippe Clement/naturepl.com; satellite image: Getty

pollution is growing


on average by six

per cent each year.







consequences, too. Red safety lighting is The light did not prompt increased hunting birds. We lack comprehensive studies.
used on aircraft, ships, tall buildings and by bats, suggesting the attraction was not It is dangerous to say any lighting is bat-
shorelines, and also on wind turbines, down to opportunistic feeding on insects friendly. Bats are not neutral to it.”
where it may worsen the problem of drawn to the light, but something else, This news will trouble conservationists
thousands of bats and birds dying each perhaps navigational. who are already worried about the
year due to collisions. A study published “Migratory bats may be more susceptible lethal attraction of wind turbines to
by The Mammal Society in 2016 to light sources of specific wavelength bats and birds. They die after becoming
suggested that wind turbines are among spectra, because vision may play a more confused into colliding with the
the largest causes of mass bat deaths dominant role than echolocation during blades, or following barotrauma – lung
around the world. migration,” Voigt suggests. “Our findings damage caused by sudden air-pressure
The drive to switch to ‘green’ and call for caution in the application of red changes near turbines. The animals’
‘eco-friendly’ forms of renewable energy aviation-safety lighting, particularly on wind natural migration routes often involve
is of course hugely important, but turbines, as this light colour might attract navigating across large offshore wind
not necessarily ‘bat-friendly’ in itself. bats, leading to an increased collision risk.” farms which have been lit up by red
As Dr Voigt, lead author of the new light to alert aircraft and shipping pilots.
research, points out: “The replacement Exploring alternatives It has been difficult to determine
of conventional lighting with energy- Finding a better solution is complex. precisely how many bats are affected,
saving LEDs is a worldwide trend, Dr Voigt’s team has proposed exploring with many dead animals thought to fall
yet consequences for animals and alternative lighting such as infrared, as is at sea, while bodies are also hard to find
ecosystems are poorly understood.” used by pilots. “Birds are also attracted to on land. One innovative study led by
Voigt’s team tested the responses of red light, and less so to green light,” he says, Fiona Mathews, Chair of The Mammal
migrating bats to red, white and green “therefore green lighting has been used as Society, used sniffer dogs in a bid to
light wavelengths. They found different a measure to avoid bird collisions on and calculate how many bats were killed by
light colours triggered changes in offshore, such as on oil-drilling platforms. It wind turbines. Previously, the BCT had
behaviour, especially with the soprano looks like the effect of green light, however, reported that at some sites in Europe
pipistrelle and Nathusius’ pipistrelle. is also quite strong on bats compared to and the USA fatalities are already high




62 BBC Wildlife November 2018

NEWS FEATURE








enough to spark “serious concern for the Lighting Professionals published ‘Bats and focus on addressing LEDs. “This is an
conservation of the species concerned”. Artificial Lighting in the UK’, offering 25 important first step in raising awareness
Bats face worsening light pollution in pages of guidance for lighting professionals, of the problems with artificial lighting
urban areas, too. In a 2014 report for the designers, planning officers, developers, and how to avoid or reduce them.” She
BCT, Emma Stone of Bristol University bat ecologists and anyone making decisions points out that although people often see
advised that lighting reduces the quantity, about lighting. bats hunting around street lights, this
quality and connectivity of habitats bats Jo Ferguson, Built Environment Officer at behaviour is limited to a few of Britain’s
use for foraging and roosting, including the BCT, says the new guidance has a strong fastest flying species. “Bats risk predation
river corridors, woodland edges and by feeding this way,” she warns.
hedgerows, creating barriers and delaying “Artificial lighting can interfere with
the emergence of light-shy species who where and how bats roost, commute and
miss peak feeding opportunities at dusk Batsandlight feed, which is why the Bat Conservation
up/Getty when insect prey is most abundant. Which are afected? Trust prefers the term ‘reduced-impact’
Stone estimates that almost a quarter of rather than ‘bat-friendly’ lighting.” Bat
Re anzon/naturep .com; noctu e: Theo Douma/AGAMI/A amy; turb nes: Sean Ga
all bat species are threatened worldwide, All UK bats have good eyesight ecologists also want higher standards
with the biggest threats to Europe’s as well as a very sophisticated of sympathetic design and planning, as
bat populations being disturbance, echolocation system, but lighting well as tougher enforcement, says Lisa
urbanisation (including lighting), habitat impacts them in diferent ways. Kerslake, England Vice President of
change, wind turbines and loss of roosts. the Chartered Institute of Ecology and
Environmental Management. “There are
Joined-up thinking LIGHT-SHY BATS concerns and gaps at all levels,” Kerslake

In recent years, warm-spectrum white Slower flying, broad- cautions. “Even where better lighting
LED lighting has been recommended by winged species – is specified and conditioned, this is not
ecologists, architects and town planners, such as the brown always enforced post-development. Many
instead of the blue-rich or UV lighting and grey long- schemes go ahead without any constraint
that can be particularly harmful to bats. eared, greater and on lighting whatsoever.”
Zuidhoek-Nieuwkoop, a town in Holland, lesser horseshoe “Our consultants and local authority
is trialling the replacement of white street (pictured) and several ecologist members encounter frequent
lights with red ones. The Netherlands Myotis bats, including problems in relation to lighting and
Daubenton’s –
Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has are strongly averse to white or green its impact on bats. I know of a scheme
Lesser horseshoe: Inak eight dark locations in forest edge habitat. light, and may also be more vulnerable particularly light-sensitive species – were
also tested the impact of these lights at
where lesser horseshoe bats – a
The BCT says there’s still much to
to night-vision hunters. But the full
having to fly across a road to a roost
site under street lights that were not
learn about light and bat behaviour. In
impacts of red light are not clear.
installed to the ecologist’s specifications.
September, the BCT and Institute of
This was rectified, but in many cases it
LIGHT-TOLERANT simply wouldn’t be noticed.”
BATS Many councils currently favour variable
Faster flying, agile species – lighting designs, which are dimmed
such as the serotine, noctule or turned off at critical times for bats,
(pictured) and Leisler’s and the or triggered to light up temporarily by
soprano, common and Nathusius’ passing pedestrians, or are opting for less
pipistrelles – can often be seen bat-reactive colour wavelengths. Such
diving and chasing insect prey around choices rely on rigorous monitoring by
Fatal attraction: white and green lighting, but their ecologists before and after installation.
migratory bats are navigation, life-cycle and natural Light barriers can also be used, such
among the species at behaviour may still be compromised. as planting trees to reduce light ‘spill’.
highest collision risk
from wind turbines. Creating and maintaining dark corridors
through towns and cities is critical to
support some light-shy species, such as
lesser and greater horseshoe bats, grey
and brown long-eared bats and some
Myotis bats, some of which are now
rare in the British Isles.

ALEX MORSS is an ecologist,
bat surveyor and science writer;
alexmorss.co.uk.


GET INVOLVED Learn more about
Britain’s bats – and how you can watch,
survey and help them – at bats.org.uk.



November 2018 BBC Wildlife 63

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE


ANIMAL EMPIRES





















Lions









Mapogo Honoured at the

New Cheetah Plains

BORN IN THE south around
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Dreadlocks, Pretty Boy, Rasta, Kinky
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lions fiercely protected their vast
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and destroying any predators that
crossed their path. The beginning
of the end of their supremacy
was marked by a savage battle on
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VIEWPOINT












MY WAY OF THINKING




MARK CARWARDINE







The broadcaster and campaigner airs his views on our perception of the state

of wildlife and wild places, and invites your thoughts on the subject.










ne of the greatest hedgehogs I’ve seen all summer. there may be one or two. Or none. I
challenges in And, in case you’re wondering, I’m also remember blizzard-like clouds of
conservation is tackling not viewing my childhood through moths in the car headlights. But now
something called the rose-tinted spectacles: the facts speak the air seems to be devoid of all life.
Shifting Baseline for themselves. Yet my norm is completely different
OSyndrome. In essence, Over my lifetime, in the UK from my parents’ norm. I can’t begin
it means that each generation has a we have lost three-quarters of our to imagine how much wildlife was
lower expectation of wildlife and wild cuckoo population, around in their day. There are still
places than the previous generation. three-quarters of S Thanks to a pockets of relative abundance (your
What my generation sees as abundant our butterflies have chances of hearing a cuckoo are
or pristine is seen by our parents declined (some by generational better in the Scottish Highlands, for
as rare or degraded; and what we as much as 96 per blindness, we example) but, overall, the shocking,
consider to be rare or degraded is cent), and we have rapid and calamitous decline in our
seen as abundant or pristine by our lost nearly 97 per cent aren’t grasping wildlife is there for all to see.
children. We each assume that the of all our hedgehogs the severity of At least, it should be. Thanks
current situation – the one we know (there were 30 million to this generational blindness to
from first-hand experience – is the when I was growing the situation. T environmental destruction, we are
norm. And so, over time, the up – now there are simply not grasping the severity of the
‘baseline’ shifts. one million). It’s a situation. And that is the problem. The
It’s a frightening concept: as a wonder there is anything left at all. concept of a shifting baseline has been
society we accept environmental But perhaps the best example of around since 1995 – when it was first
degradation, simply because we can’t the Shifting Baseline Syndrome is the proposed by marine biologist Daniel
imagine how the natural world used so-called ‘windscreen test’. I remember Pauly – but we are only just waking up
to be. What seems OK to us today how, when I was a boy, long summer to what it really means.
would have been considered pitiful a car journeys would leave my father’s The solution is continuously to
generation ago. Consequently, most windscreen comprehensively splattered measure and record as much as we
people don’t have a clue about how with squashed moths, mosquitoes, possibly can – the UK’s State of Nature
much wildlife we have lost. flies and other insects. Nowadays, report is a perfect example – to provide
Even over my 59-year lifetime I can a more accurate and tangible baseline.
see the Shifting Baseline Syndrome And then we have to shout about it
in action. When I was a young boy, from the rooftops.
growing up in suburban Hampshire, If we don’t, we will always be
our garden was a veritable wildlife satisfied with much too little, and we
paradise. Cuckoos were the perpetual will always aim far too low. Surely,
soundtrack to summer, the flowerbeds the severely depleted wildlife we are
were alive with umpteen species of becoming accustomed to in the UK
butterflies, and four or five hedgehogs should not be anyone’s norm?
would come to be fed on our patio
every night. I took it all for granted, MARK CARWARDINE is a frustrated
Lost soundtrack
because that was the ‘norm’. and frank conservationist.
to summer:
Not any more. I can’t remember the we have lost WHAT DO YOU THINK? If you
Mark Caunt/Alamy register every time I see a butterfly, of our cuckoo or shoot him down in flames, email
last time I heard a cuckoo, I actually
75 per cent
want to support Mark in his views
population
and I could count on the fingers of
in the UK.
one hand the number of (unsquashed)
[email protected]
November 2018 BBC Wildlife 65

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
































Chimpanzees








It’s a rare privilege to set foot on Rubondo Island. Bar a handful

of park wardens, wildlife researchers and camp staff, the island
is uninhabited by humans and has been set aside as a refuge for

threatened chimpanzees.




Rubondo Island Camp and more frequent sightings as the
chimpanzees become less shy and
RUBONDO ISLAND LIES in the secretive.
southwest corner of Lake Victoria in
Asilia Africa’s Rubondo Island
Northern Tanzania and is blanketed Camp is the only lodge on Rubondo
in pristine equatorial forest – the
Island, the largest island national
ideal sanctuary for 16 rescued
chimpanzees to be reintroduced into park in Africa. From its idyllic
the wild. lakefront location to the eco-friendly
design of the eight waterfront
Professor Bernhard Grzimek of chalets, the camp offers unrivalled
the Frankfurt Zoological Society access to this unique destination.
initiated this project in the 1960s, Here, elephant roam wild, shy
and over a four year period released sitatungas jump from bush to bush,
the chimpanzees rescued from colourful birds and butterflies
European zoos onto the island abound amongst lush indigenous
in four cohorts. The animals had foliage, and the waters teem with
no rehabilitation or pre-release hippo, crocodile, and the iconic Nile
training but after just one year perch.
on Rubondo, they had reverted Being a part of the chimpanzee
successfully to a truly wild state habituation on Rubondo Island is a
characteristic of chimpanzees born truly once-in-a-lifetime experience
and raised in the wild. in a one-of-a-kind location, and is

The latest project on the island is the ideal complement to a classic
the habituation of the increasing Serengeti safari.
population of more than 30
chimpanzees to the presence of
humans.This involves trekking out
early each morning to find where
the chimpanzees have spent the
night and then slowly introducing
them to the presence of humans in asiliaafrica.com
a non-threatening way.This takes [email protected]
considerable time and patience
but is yielding excellent results +27 21 418 0468

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE


ANIMAL EMPIRES



The kea is the world’s
only alpine parrot and
was crowned New
Zealand’s Bird of the
Year for 2017.

























































Mountainclown















With its intelligence and ind buffeted camera lens. Laughing, I managed to
the ridge rescue my camera and rucksack. Later,
almost human sense of from the side, at the Iris Burn Hut, we recounted the

as we inched comical incident to the seasonal park
humour, the kea is a irm across its rangers, Robbie and Jess.

favourite in New Zealand, needlepoint “You can see why these birds are
Wpath. The sun known as mountain clowns,” said Jess.
but its appetite and curiosity had finally burned through morning “They often appear on that section of
thunder clouds to reveal dazzling lakes the track. They didn’t nick any of your
can lead it into trouble. and mountains. It was then, at this stuff, did they?” I shook my head.

dramatic section of the Kepler Track on “Oh good – kea are very intelligent.
By Kirsten Amor the South Island of New Zealand, that Some studies compare the average
the kea first appeared. intelligence of a kea to that of a four-
Soaring through the sky, a large, year-old child.” And, as with human Marcin Dobas/National Ge
luminous-green parrot with orange youngsters, a sense of mischief can
trim around its wings landed only get them in trouble.
a few feet away. Five others arrived “Being so smart means kea get
and, almost immediately, the games bored easily,” Jess continued. “They’re
began. One kea hopped over and began highly inquisitive, and people are
tugging at my shoelaces; another normally all too willing to give them C
ll
started scratching the waterproof cover stuff to play with. We know some kea c
of my rucksack with its beak; another around here have even worked out n/Alamy
two tried to push the cover off my how to open zips.” Robbie joined in.

“But while these parrots are lots of fun and From above: the into trouble; they
seem plentiful up in the mountains, they’re kea is one of the are not scared
most intelligent of humans and
actually considered Vulnerable. There may
birds – some have will pluck at your
be fewer than 5,000 wild kea left, and that’s even managed to laces; kea have
largely down to the actions of humans, work out how to been known to
including bringing predators to New open zips; their move cones into
inquisitive nature the road, forcing
Zealand.” It was a refrain we were to hear
can get them cars to stop.
throughout the rest of our trip.
A born survivor
shoes: Andrew Wa ms ey/naturep .com; cone: Andrew Wa ms ey/A amy; fly ng: Terry Wh ttaker/FLPA
Endemic to New Zealand’s South Island,
kea have evolved over millennia to survive garnered a reputation for being pests:
harsh alpine conditions. They became kea relish high-energy foods, such as
omnivores, with sharply curved beaks and fat, and soon learned to cut through
claws suited to foraging on berries, seeds the backs of sheep to reach the fat
and grubs, as well as scavenging the flesh around their livers. As a result, the
Skis: T ui De Roy/Minden/FLPA; aerial: Mark Carwardine/Minden /FLPA;
from carcasses. They play an important part government introduced a bounty of
in alpine ecosystems, by spreading seeds 10 shillings (equivalent to NZ$120
across the mountain ranges: around 12 today, or approximately £62.50) for
per cent of New Zealand’s alpine flora every kea killed. Around 150,000
depends on kea. kea were exterminated between the
With few other sizeable meat-eaters 1860s and 1970.
around, kea flourished. Today, however, the The settlers also brought invasive
birds’ neophilia – their love of new things – predators with them, in the form of stoats
has become a double-edged sword, ensuring and rats from Europe, brushtail possums
their survival but also, with the arrival of from Australia, and domestic cats. With
people, their destruction. plentiful dense forests and abundant
European settlers came in the 1860s, food, the alien mammals thrived, soon
but kea’s problems really began with threatening many of New Zealand’s ground-
the introduction of sheep farming. They nesting native birds. Kea nest in burrows,


70 BBC Wildlife

KEA






































































“Alotofhumanfood,suchas Above: the kea’s
olive-green plumage
Fun-loving chocolate,ispoisonoustothe helps camouflage
it on the ground,
parrots birds.Yetkeahavelearnedto but in flight scarlet
underwings are
revealed. Its usual
stealitfromtheskikiosks.” call is a distinctive
high-pitched ‘kee-ah’.
As some of the world’s most
intelligent birds, kea are extremely
inquisitive, appear to enjoy
problem-solving and engage in
playful activities, seemingly for so were vulnerable. Yet the species did not Basin ski pass area recently. Another serious
fun – qualities that endear them become legally protected until 1986. issue is cars. Five kea were hit by vehicles
to us yet bring them into conflict. Nowadays, kea face a whole host of in Arthur’s Pass last year. Kea like a high-
In one example, kea were caught other threats to their survival too. Bruce protein, high-fat diet, so when a tanker
on camera moving traffic cones McKinlay of the country’s Department of filled with cream turned over and spilt
around the road outside Homer Conservation (DOC) explains: “Kea can its contents all over the road, it naturally
Tunnel in Fiordland National Park. adapt their behaviour to explore new things attracted the birds.”
To lure the birds away from the in their environment very quickly. However, It is this scavenging, curious behaviour
dangerous road, the Department from an evolutionary perspective, humans that puts the birds at risk. “It makes kea
of Conservation built a ‘kea gym’ and kea have only shared the land for the reliant on hand-outs from people, which
using objects the birds could take blink of an eye. People bring objects into isn’t necessarily good for them,” says Mark.
apart and climb on. At the ‘Kea Lab’ the environment and create situations “Several types of human food, such as
in Austria, a captive flock of around that kea are not really biologically equipped chocolate, are poisonous to the birds. Yet
30 kea takes part in experiments to handle.” people offer them chocolate quite regularly,
designed to help researchers learn Mark Brabyn, one of the initiators of and kea have even learned to steal it from
more about how birds acquire a citizen-science project called the Kea kiosks in the ski areas.”
knowledge and apply logic. Database, agrees. “Kea see wires and power The other issue is waste packaging, which
lines, and want to know what’s inside them. kea can easily eat while scavenging for food.
Three birds were electrocuted in the Temple “I’ve seen photographs of kea with their


November 2018 BBC Wildlife 71

KEA







“Kea are attracted

to lead flashings


found on the old

buildings here.”








onslaught means that the proportion of
kea chicks surviving may drop as low as
one per cent.
When an area is treated with 1080, nearly
100 per cent of the rats and 95 per cent of
the possums are killed. Peter Morton of the
DOC says that they have already seen great
results. “The benefits of pest control are
very apparent, with improved kea breeding
success when predators are controlled,”
he says. “Observers reported a group of
around 20 young birds last summer, which
is exceptional. Seeing that many juvenile
kea is an encouraging indication that
predator control in the area is helping to
protect chicks in nests – enabling them
to fledge successfully.”

Monitoring pest control
But there are concerns about the potential
dangers of releasing 1080 into forests, and
guts full of wrappers, plastic and other fly. To boost the birds’ survival rate, New the side-effects it might have on kea. In
rubbish,” he adds. Zealand’s conservationists are involving one 2016 study, the DOC tracked the birds
The scavenging is not just limited to the public in large-scale efforts to deal with throughout pest-control operations in South
food – lead poisoning is an unusual but these invasive predators. Westland and at Arthur’s Pass, Kahurangi
unfortunately common cause of death in Every year, the DOC runs a ‘Battle for National Park and Lake Rotoiti. Four out
these alpine parrots. “Kea are attracted to our Birds’ programme, which aims to of 49 kea had died from 1080 poisoning.
lead flashings found on the old buildings reduce populations of invasive predators Since then, however, efforts have been
here, but when they peel it off they can and protect vulnerable native species. The made to avoid alpine areas that the kea
get lead poisoning,” says Mark. “For some campaign focuses on spreading poison frequent for food, and with well-timed 1080
reason, lead tastes sweet to them.” The Kea across vast swathes of forest from the air. aerial controls, 70 per cent of kea nests are
Conservation Trust has an ongoing project The substance used is 1080, a synthetic now successful.
to identify, remove and replace all lead form of sodium fluoroacetate. This Overall, Peter argues that the 1080
on buildings in South Island. It also tests biodegradable chemical occurs naturally programme has proved its worth. “Research
kea for lead levels in their bodies so that in plants and has a consistency similar to is giving us increasing confidence that
treatment can be given before it’s too late. colourless salt. In addition, baited traps pest-control operations improve kea nesting
laced with 1080 are laid and other ground- success and juvenile survival during beech-
Under attack based predator controls are carried out. mast events,” he says. “In a nutshell, more
Stoats, rats, possums and cats continue The number of kea taken by predators kea breed and survive in the areas that
to plague kea. Up to 40 per cent of young shoots up during forest- do receive aerial 1080 than in the areas
birds do not survive their first year, and seeding seasons – for that don’t.”
rats and stoats readily kill female kea that example, when beech The Kea Database is a citizen-science
attempt to defend their nests. Adults trees (New Zealand has initiative established in 2017 by Mark
and young alike are particularly five species of beech, Brabyn, Laura Young and George Moon
vulnerable to attack in the period all unrelated to Eurasian to enhance our understanding of kea.
before the nestlings learn to beech) produce their mast. Hopefully, a better-informed public will
An abundant seed crop leads lead to fewer unnecessary kea deaths. With
to a sharp increase in mice the help of volunteers, the team aims to
Top: a kea being and rat populations, in ring as many kea as possible, giving each
caught for research. turn boosting stoat individual a unique name and profile on
Right: these birds populations. The the database, and is sharing the details on
easily negotiate combined information boards and pamphlets. This
rocky outcrops.
predator allows local people and tourists alike to


72 BBC Wildlife November 2018

KEA

































































Kaka (left) means
parrot and riki
(right) means little.











De Roy/M nden/FLPA;
Gerald & Buf Corsi/Visuals Unlimited/Getty; T ui De Roy/Minden/FLPA; Museum of New Zealand T e Papa T ongarewa






eft: Andrew Wa ms ey/naturep .com; Andy T rowbr dge/naturep .com; T u

Call of the Kea



From top: kea are
‘Kea’ is derived from the ancient unusual in that they
Maori name for these alpine parrots, actively seek out
and interact with
and – like many Maori words – does
humans; the birds
not end in an ‘s’ when plural. It is form pair bonds and
thought to be a reference to the are territorial, usually
birds’ distinctive ‘kee-ah’ calls (which occupying an area
2
of 4km ; kea nest in
you can listen to at xeno-canto.
burrows under trees
org). However, these sociable birds or rocks. A single
also have a wide repertoire of other clutch of eggs is laid
between July and
C ockw se from bottom whinnies, as well as communicating October and the
vocalisations, including squeals and
chicks hatch after
by body language and even feather
four weeks.
posturing and displays.



November 2018 BBC Wildlife 73

This database allows


you to keep track of

a kea you haven’t


seen for months.
















































identify which kea they saw, and then to plans to develop the database further. “You
update the database with information about will be able to search for sightings logged PLANNING TO VISIT?
its behaviour and interactions with people. by a particular citizen scientist, or search for
“What’s unique about this database is that groups of kea,” Mark explains. The more kk Kea can be seen in national parks T ui De Roy/Minden/FLPA (x2)
you can keep track of a kea you haven’t seen sightings there are, the more use it will be to along the west coast of New Zealand’s
for months and know what it is up to,” says research organisations. As for the DOC, it has South Island, from Kahurangi to
Mark. “Sometimes kea will fly across several signed up to an ambitious, much-publicised Fiordland, or at Arthur’s Pass.
mountain ridges – it’s interesting to see just goal known as ‘Predator Free 2050’ – to kk Eagle-Eye Tours (eagle-eye.com)
how far they travel.” eradicate all possums, rats and stoats in both and Wrybill Tours (wrybill-tours.com)
mainland New Zealand and on its islands by ofer birdwatching trips around New
Auseful tool 2050. This can only help kea. Zealand. Tropical Birding (tropical
The database is a useful public engagement In a sign that times are changing, in 2017 birding.com) can create bespoke trips.
tool. “Lots of school and conservation groups the kea was voted ‘Bird of the Year’ in New kk UK wildlife-tour operators running
want to sponsor a kea,” Mark says. Zealand’s popular annual poll (it received New Zealand trips include Wildlife
“They watch ‘their’ bird grow more votes than there are members Worldwide (wildlifeworldwide.com),
from a fledgling into an adult. of the species in the wild). Has the Limosa Holidays (limosaholidays.
Since the database launched Kea Database team seen any co.uk), Naturetrek (naturetrek.co.uk).
about a year ago, we have ringed difference in public attitudes
around 50 kea and over 2,000 sightings towards these fun-loving,
have been logged in the database. This is meat-eating mountain parrots?
what I love about citizen “It’s still early days for the
science – getting all these project,” Mark says. “But KIRSTEN AMOR writes about travel
different people involved.” local people are telling us and the outdoors. She spent time
Next year, the team that instead of being with kea conservationists in 2017.
proud of feeding kea,
they’re saying ‘let’s report FIND OUT MORE Learn more at
Top: the birds can them’. We’ve even had keadatabase.nz and keaconservation.co.nz.
fly across several people tell us that they’ve O Watch clips of kea at: bbc.co.uk/
mountain ridges. spotted tourists feeding the programmes/p00m7qq1.
Right: a lot of human
food, eg chocolate, is birds and have gone over to O Listen to Radio 4’s Tweet of the Day on kea:
poisonous for kea. ask them to stop.” bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04t0t44

74 BBC Wildlife November 2018

Bear Photography Tours in Finland

















April May June















July August September

2019 coming new bird hide and bird program









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www.wbb.i +358 40 5469008 [email protected] facebook.com/WildBrownBearFinland/

The winners 2018 Wildlife

Photographer of the Year Photo
story



Eyes








on the









wild













The winning images in the world’s

premier wildlife photography

competition explore an array of

species, habitats, themes and

behaviours – spectacular and

intimate, funny and heartbreaking.

Meet a host of endangered,

industrious and entertaining

animals in this exciting preview.

BED OF SEALS
CRISTOBAL SERRANO, SPAIN
Winner, Animals in their Environment

A group of crabeater seals doze on an ice
floe at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
These seals, widespread in Antarctica, are
dependent on sea ice for resting, breeding,
avoiding predators such as killer whales and
leopard seals, and accessing feeding areas.
Cristobal waited in a rubber dinghy until the
sea was relatively calm before launching his
drone to fly “high and smoothly … using low-
noise propellers to avoid disturbing the seals”.

PHOTO STORY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR











MUD-ROLLING MUD-DAUBER
GEORGINA STEYTLER, AUSTRALIA
Winner, Behaviour: Invertebrates
On a hot day at Walyormouring Nature
Reserve, Western Australia, Georgina
spotted these female slender mud-
dauber wasps excavating material for
their nests. Georgina lay in the mud and
began shooting whenever one entered
the frame. After hundreds of attempts
she captured this shot of two wasps
displaying their mud-handling skills.




SIGNATURE TREE
ALEJANDRO PRIETO, MEXICO.
Winner,Wildlife Photojournalist Award: Story

A male jaguar scratches his
signature into a tree at the edge
of his territory in the Sierra de
Vallejo, western Mexico. Alejandro’s
custom-built camera-trap was in
place for eight months before the
jaguar triggered this shot.









































































78 BBC Wildlife November 2018

SILENT SKIRMISH
MICHEL D’OULTREMONT, BELGIUM
Winner, Rising Star

Two short-eared owls
squabble over a mouse in
Cambrai, northern France.
This owl’s mottled plumage
usually camouflages it against
vegetation, so Michel waited
eight days for snow to use
as a backdrop. As the owls
showed of their aerial agility,
he focused on their piercing
yellow eyes, framed in black.
He got his picture, but neither
owl got its meal: “The mouse
fell and escaped alive.”






BEE ON GUARD
JAVIER AZNAR
GONZÁLEZ DE RUEDA, SPAIN
Winner, Portfolio
This stingless bee in Napo,
in the Ecuadorian Amazon,
confronted Javier head on,
beating its wings rapidly to
warn him away from its wards:
treehopper nymphs, which
rewarded their bodyguard with
nutritious drops of honeydew.


November 2018 BBC Wildlife 79

PHOTO STORY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR









THE VISION
JAN VAN DER GREEF,
THE NETHERLANDS
Winner, Black and White

Perfectly balanced, tail opening
and closing, wings vibrating,
an eastern mountaineer
hummingbird siphons nectar
from a red-hot-poker plant
flower. Jan stationed himself
in the garden of his hotel in
southern Peru for several days
to capture this strange vision.


HELLBENT
DAVID HERASIMTSCHUK, USA
Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles
David spotted this remarkable
moment while drifting down
Tennessee’s Tellico River: a
northern water snake clamped
tightly in the jaws of a hungry
hellbender – North America’s
largest aquatic salamander,
growing up to 75cm long.









































































80 BBC Wildlife November 2018

THE GOLDEN COUPLE
MARSEL VAN OOSTEN,
THE NETHERLANDS
Grand Title Winner,Animal Portraits
Qinling golden snub-nosed
monkeys rest in the temperate
forest of China’s Qinling
Mountains. This endangered
subspecies is constantly
on the move, and the steep
terrain proved challenging for
Marsel. It took many days to
understand the monkeys’ group
dynamics, but his perseverance
paid of with this shot, soft light
filtering through the canopy.




PIPE OWLS
ARSHDEEP SINGH, INDIA
Winner, 10 Years and Under
Huddled in an old pipe, two spotted
owlets look straight into Arshdeep’s
lens. Using his father’s camera and
telephoto lens, with skills accrued
from photographing birds since he
was six years old, Arshdeep created
this characterful portrait of a
species that’s adapted to urban life.


November 2018 BBC Wildlife 81

PHOTO STORY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR








LOUNGING LEOPARD
SKYE MEAKER, SOUTH AFRICA
Grand Title Winner, 15–17 Years Old

Mathoja was dozing when Skye found her, lying along a low
branch of a nyala tree in Botswana’s Mashatu Game Reserve.
As Skye watched, Mathoja opened her eyes for a moment;
overhead branches admitted a shaft of light that gave a glint
to her eyes, helping him create this memorable portrait.


























































NIGHT FLIGHT
MICHAEL PATRICK O’NEILL, USA
Winner, Under Water

On a night dive in the Atlantic of
Florida, Michael achieved a long-
held goal: to portray the speed,
motion and beauty of flying fish.
At night, these fish move more
slowly as they feed on planktonic
animals, allowing Michael to
capture his ‘innerspace’ vision.





KUHIRWA MOURNS
HER BABY
RICARDO NÚÑEZ MONTERO, SPAIN
Winner, Behaviour: Mammals
Kuhirwa, a young female
mountain gorilla in Uganda’s
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest,
holds the corpse of her baby,
which died soon after being born
in bad weather; Kuhirwa initially
cuddled and groomed the body.


82 BBC Wildlife November 2018

CROSSING PATHS
MARCO COLOMBO, ITALY
Winner, Urban Wildlife
A shadowy movement caught Marco’s eye
late one evening as he drove through a village
in Italy’s Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National
Park – a Marsican brown bear. Stopping the
car, he had just a few minutes to take a shot
before it crossed the road and disappeared
into the woods. Most Marsican brown bears
– an isolated, unaggressive and critically
endangered subspecies – stay well away
from humans, but a few venture into villages
to raid vegetable gardens and orchards,
especially in the run-up to hibernation.











WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR is run and developed by the Natural
History Museum, London, where the exhibition showcasing the winning and highly
commended entries opens on 19 October. For details of the exhibition, how to enter the
next competition, and dates and venues of the regional exhibition tour, visit:
www.wildlifephotographeroftheyear.com


November 2018 BBC Wildlife 83

S There were so many

dead elephants and

gemsbok that hyenas


and birds were not able

to eat all of the bodies. T














































































84 BBC Wildlife November 2018

Behind
the
image





The lone


survivor



by SERGEY GORSHKOV 2013



Five years ago, a drought in Namibia killed
huge numbers of animals – but a few hardy
creatures eked out an existence in the dunes.




amibia’s coastal desert is
well named: in the Nama
(Khoekhoe) language,
Namib means ‘vast’ – and
N this 81,000km expanse
2
is one of the world’s largest and oldest
SERGEY GORSHKOV
deserts. Despite the harsh conditions,
is a founding member some creatures and plants thrive here:
of the Russian Union of
Wildlife Photographers. desert-adapted elephants, camelthorn
trees, ostriches, darkling beetles, and the
gorshkov-photo.com
peculiar welwitschia plant, which can
live for over 1,000 years. The gemsbok
is arguably the most elegant and best-
adapted species, capable of surviving for
long periods without fresh water, getting
moisture from the roots and tubers it
grubs up and eats, and adjusting its
temperature to cope with heat.
Yet when the worst drought in a
generation struck in 2013, even the
gemsbok were stricken.

Against the odds
“I spent 12 days in a helicopter, 300m
above the dunes, flying two hours in the
morning and evening each day,” recalls
Sergey Gorshkov, who was undertaking a
photographic expedition that December.
“From my bird’s-eye view, I saw that
the drought had spared no one. I found
many dead elephants and gemsbok,
perished from lack of water and food.
There were so many that all of the
scavengers – hyenas and birds of prey –
were not able to eat all of the bodies.”
Scouring the dunes near the
Angolan border, Sergey found some
survivors. “Every morning I watched as
gemsbok – alone and in small groups –
travelled 50km in the scorching sun to
the only source of water in the area, the
Kunene River, where they drank before
returning to those places where they
could find dry grass to eat.”
Spotting a lone gemsbok from 300m
above, Sergey battled buffeting winds to
frame this image – a symbol of the
tenacity and fragility of wildlife in this
beautiful yet gruelling environment.


November 2018 BBC Wildlife 85

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Frans Lanting/Mint Images/Getty alpha male known as David

Chimps – specifically a
group in Senegal led by an

– star in the new BBC One
series Dynasties.



Thehierarchyofsurvivalinthewild


Explore the complex relationships of animal families with Sir David.


to accompany the series, each episode As ever, we can only marvel at the
Book DYNASTIES of which focuses on an individual physical and mental exertions
BY STEPHEN MOSS, BBC BOOKS, £25
choice leader and the challenges they face to demanded of film-making in remote
Autumn’s natural maintain their power and safeguard habitats, but what is to be really
history spectacular is their territories for future generations. savoured are the reflections from
about to burst onto Author Stephen Moss delivers a those with a ringside seat, whose
our screens. Dynasties, rich narrative of how each ‘dynasty’ encounters are testament to months
a new five-parter for lives, feeds and breeds, introducing and years on location. Observing two
BBC One narrated by the characters from the series and penguins attempting to mate is like
David Attenborough, expanding on their stories, skilfully “watching a surfing lesson, with the
offers an in-depth look at the complex interweaving exciting and intimate male climbing onto the female and
social relationships of some of the observations from the camera losing his balance;” the head of a
most charismatic animal families on teams on the ground. The result is a newborn painted wolf is so large that
the planet: chimps, lions, emperor photographically stunning tome that it “teeters over its front legs like a
penguins, painted wolves and tigers. is at once a natural history reference, see-saw”, and when a male chimp
As is the norm for landmark BBC compendium of wonderful animal comes close, you “genuinely feel the
productions, there’s a lavish hardback stories and behind-the-scenes tour. earth move”. Sarah McPherson






November 2018 BBC Wildlife 87

WILD AT HOME




Once spear-hunting
humans arrived on Earth,
STREAMING EVENT sabre-tooths dwindled
into extinction while most
Age of Big Cats big cats, including the

snow leopard (pictured),
CURIOSITYSTREAM.COM survived to modern day.


We can’t get enough of big cats, and
there’s no shortage of series looking at the
behaviour of the world’s most charismatic
felines. Offering a whole new slant on this
well-pawed genre is Age of Big Cats,
available via CuriosityStream, an online
hub of science and nature documentaries.
Using a blend of new footage
(including an evocative and heart-stopping
snow leopard hunt in part one) and CGI
animation, this three-parter unravels the
ascent of all seven big cats, looking at the
physical traits, hunting adaptations and
geographical factors that allowed them to
survive alongside – and eventually outlive
– the larger and more ferocious sabre-
tooths that dominated the Pleistocene two
million years ago. We learn how cheetahs
developed speed, why snow leopards
retreated into the mountains and how
jaguars made it to the “ends of the Earth”.
“Modern big cats represent some of the
most spectacular creatures of this or any
era in our planet’s history, but today are in
danger of disappearing,” says director
Martin Dohrn. “We hope that by telling
their stories in the most compelling way Martin Dohrn/Ammonite
possible, we can increase the appreciation
of these amazing animals.” SM




BOOK HOUSE AND HOME

WILD STREAM The Wonderful Advent Calendar

Mr Willughby WOODLAND TRUST, WOODLANDTRUST.ORG.UK, £4.99
TV
Drowning in Plastic
Liz Bonnin travels the world to BY TIM BIRKHEAD, BLOOMSBURY, £25 Obviously we’re not talking about
reveal the extent of the plastic Christmas yet, but one festive tradition we
problem and discover what If you ever thought the history can justifiably mention at this point is the
solutions are in the pipeline. of natural history might be old chestnut of the advent calendar. If you
BBC iPlayer, until 30 October dull, this wonderful book, a think you can convince your children that
masterpiece of biographical they really don’t need a morsel of (often
TV sleuthing, will quickly dispel tasteless) chocolate to mark each passing
Super Small Animals that illusion. Renowned ornithological December day, here’s a lovely traditional
Biologist Patrick Ayree writer Tim Birkhead has rescued the calendar designed exclusively for the
investigates the miniature charismatic and brilliant young 17th Woodland Trust by Amanda Loverseed,
marvels of the natural world. century naturalist Francis Willughby where a green woodpecker, jay, tawny owl,
BBC iPlayer, until 29 October from being considered second in stature badger and pair of red squirrels
to his more famous tutor and are among the
ONLINE collaborator, John Ray, giving him the motifs hiding
How Does Sea Life Survive accolade of first true ornithologist, a behind each
in the Antarctic? genius whose groundbreaking door. Count
Find out all about the wonder investigations are still relevant today. The down to
of animal antifreeze – in under author’s passion for his subjects, both Christmas and
four minutes. human and avian, shine through as he help our trees
BBC Earth Unplugged, YouTube brings history to life and relates past to at the same
present. Jonathan Elphick Ornithologist time. SM


88 BBC Wildlife ovem 2

WILD AT HOME






MEET THE AUTHOR
NEW TIGER BOOKS

TheRiseandFallof

theEmerald Tigers Noah Strycker


BY RAGHU CHUNDAWAT, The birder talks about his quest to see half
SPEAKING TIGER BOOKS, £9.72
of the world’s bird species in one year.

The best book on tigers
for many years – and
the saddest. Raghu Whatmadeyoutakeonthisquest? Howdidyouplanthetrip?
Chundawat led a As a kid, I was inspired by Kenn Kaufman’s It took six months to make all the travel
successful pioneering Kingbird Highway, about birding across arrangements. For me, the soul of the trip
study of tigers in the dry forests the US. Then I read of Ruth Miller and was meeting birders in every country I
of Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Alan Davies’ Big Year (a challenge to see as visited. I spent hundreds of hours online
Pradesh, before catastrophe many bird species as possible in 12 months contacting complete strangers, and the
struck: a spike in poaching and a within a specific area) global record of 4,341 response was overwhelming. Many of
new director who didn’t want to species in 2008. I imagined what it would them invited me to stay in their homes.
hear bad news. Chundawat and be like to do one continuous global Big
his team were banned from the Year, birding every day, and picked a target Whatwerethelowpoints?
forest and Panna lost all of its of 5,000 as a nice round number. I came down with flu in South America
tigers. After years of grief, the and suffered Delhi belly in India. The
author has assembled his data in Giveusafewtripstatistics... scariest moment came in Tanzania, when
a comprehensive work, which is I birded in 41 countries on all seven I was in a Land Rover that had a high-
full of fresh insights that only a continents. My highest day-count was 186 speed blowout and ran off the road.
trained observer accrues over species in one morning in Panama, while
years in the field. Magnificent. Ecuador provided the most species in the Wherewereyouwhenyourealised
shortest time – 625 in 12 days. To reach youhadhityourtargetof5,000?
my goal, I needed to see at least one new In the Philippines, with a flame-crowned
species every waking hour – so if a bird flowerpecker. I still had two months to
took longer than an hour to find, I would go, and ended up with a total of 6,042
actually be going backwards. species. My final sighting was a silver-
breasted broadbill, which I saw at sunset
Whatwasthemostmemorable on December 31 in north-east India.
sightingofthetrip?
In Brazil I waited hours for a harpy eagle Howdidyoufeelwhenyourrecord
to arrive at its nest and was eventually wasbrokenbyArjanDwarshuis?
rewarded when the male swooped in with Records are made to be broken! Arjan
Second Nature a coati in its talons. I found a spoon- did a great job streamlining the itinerary.
billed sandpiper in Thailand on my third I will be curious to hear about how other
BY SANJAY GUBBI, RAINFED BOOKS, £11 try – bittersweet, because the species is birders will push the boundaries over
crushingly endangered. the years ahead.
India’s Bandipur and
Nagarahole Tiger
The harpy eagle – a
Reserves are traversed
“Sherman tank with
by seven major roads fighter jet wings.”
whose upgrade posed
a serious threat to wildlife. The
solution, which took years of
byzantine politicking and complex
court cases, was to close the main
arteries at night. Gubbi recounts
Harpy: Nick Garbutt/naturepl.com; tiger: Aditya Singh/Getty something of the wonder of an Birding Without
his involvement in this and other
nitty-gritty case histories, catching


India hurtling into the 21st century
with tigers, elephants and leopards
in its path. His stories offer a
Borders: An
valuable blueprint for campaigning
Obsession, a
in countries where conservation
Quest, and the
Biggest Year in
law does not tick along.
the World
Stephen Mills Tiger expert
£18, Souvenir
Press
November 2018 BBC Wildlife 89

WILD AT HOME






HOUSE AND HOME
Cofee logs


COFFEE-LOGS.CO.UK


The evenings are well and truly
drawing in, and kudos to anyone still
resisting the central heating. But
if you’re itching for the crackle of
the open fire, here’s an unexpected
new source of fuel. Coffee Logs are
made from the recycled grounds
of our cappuccinos and lattes, with
the leftovers of 25 cups compressed
into each ‘log’. They are said to burn
longer and hotter than wood, and
are suitable for stoves, woodburners
and open fires. Put to the test by our
picture editor Tom and his father-
in-law, the reports came back with a
blazing thumbs up. We’ll raise our YOUNGER READERS
(cappuccino) glasses to that. poop” in real life. I then persuaded my
RRP £6.99 for a bag of 16. SM Howl Like a Wolf seven-year-old to sneak up on his mum
like a leopard while she was putting
BY KATHLEENYALE,STOREYPUBLISHING,£14.99
clothes away. The point is that children
learn about the biology of animals by
“Have you tried any of the imitating them, and this engaging book
Heat your
home with activities in the book?” I offers ideas to emulate 15 species –
cofee. asked my 10-year-old son in whether wriggling through tight spaces
preparation for this review. like an octopus, dressing in stripy clothes
“Well,” he replied sheepishly, like a skunk or flicking out your tongue
“I did pee on a tree to mark my territory.” to eat popcorn off a table, like a frog.
In fact, Howl Like a Wolf rather “Why don’t you try singing like a
conservatively suggests “scratching the humpback in the bath?” I suggested later.
ground” or “putting up flags” to do this, “Just don’t practise any breaching.”
even though wolves use “smelly pee and James Fair Environmental journalist




T
OUT IN HE GARDEN
BOOK BOOK
LET GREENERY GROW The Secret Extreme
Resist the temptation to cut
back mature ivy. It is a super Network of Nature Conservation
resource for wildlife, with BY PETER WOHLLEBEN, £14.99, BODLEY HEAD BY JOEL BERGER, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, £22.50
insects feasting on its flowers
and birds on its berries. Many Conservation organisations Life at the margins has long
species will also seek shelter are often criticised for weathered extremes: Tibetan
within its dense foliage.
using charismatic animals wild yaks, Arctic musk-oxen,
to engage public interest. Bhutanese takin (‘gnu goats’),
BUILD A BEE BASE Peter Wohlleben can never and the Gobi’s saiga antelopes
Pile up twigs and sticks in a be accused of this – here, all became inured to dryness,
quiet corner to create shelter the subjects of his musings include thin air, and cold. Now, climate change,
for these important insects. bacteria, fungi and bark beetles. Despite predators and hunters are driving these
such apparently unpromising topics, “elusive, dazzling treasures” to the brink.
BAKE OFF this is a fascinating read, introducing In refreshingly footnote-free dispatches,
Make fat cakes to see hungry trees that ‘taste’ deer saliva, flirtatious conservation biologist Joel Berger reveals
garden birds through cold moths, seedling-“suckling” plants and traits that may yet allow slow reproducing
snaps. Thread yoghurt pots raven-wolf friendships. Wohlleben says herd animals to adapt. Faced with the
with string and fill with a mix nature’s networks are so complex, we “disquieting desperation” that pervades
of birdseed, grated cheese and can’t ever know how our actions will the no-longer-so-icy barrens, Berger’s
melted lard. Leave to set, then change them. “We need to leave things solution is stubbornly simple: “Maintain
hang in the garden.
alone – on as large a scale as possible.” what we have and restore what we’ve lost.”
Liz Kalaugher Science writer Michael Engelhard Writer and wilderness guide


90 BBC Wildlife November 2018

WILD AT HOME






CROSSWORD Win a prize with our brain-teaser. Answers WILDWORDS
in our
January 2019
Compiledby RICHARD SMYTH issue















1) the definition for Arterra Picture Library/Alamy
magnanerie

A the sound of many birds
chirping together
SEPTEMBER ANSWERS B the art or place of rearing
Across: 6 Abelia, silkworms
8 Caucasus, 9 celeriac, C a heraldic animal turned to
10 ragged, 11 Indian roller, one side with its head facing
13 meadow, 15 teazel, the viewer
18 spotted crake,
21 scarab, 22 rose moss, 2) the animal you associate
23 Blakeney, 24 ringed. with the adjective sturnine
Down: 1 bluebird, 2 banian,
3 murrelet, 4 jaeger, A a starling
5 Buteo, 7 blennies, B a herring
8 cuckoo, 12 perkysue, C a squirrel
14 woodbine, 16 agrimony,
17 stormy, 18 shrike, 3) the ofspring of a mole
19 desert, 20 scaly.
A a pup
SEPTEMBER WINNER B a kit
M Gow Tyne and Wear C a cosset

ACROSS 24 Vegetables of the genus Allium feeds on fish, amphibians, eggs 4) the sound made
6 Small, noisy crow with grey crown (7) with long, broad stems (5) and carrion (6)
7 Yellow-flowered Eurasian shrub, also 26 Georg Wilhelm _____, an 18th- 7 Coyotes and jackals, for instance (4) by pigeons
called whin or woodwaxen (7) century scientist after whom an eider, 8 North ___, US state in which lies
A a chatter
9 Deciduous tree in the family sea eagle and sea cow were named (7) Theodore Roosevelt National Park (6)
B a caw
Betulaceae, related to hazels 27 Another name for the marbled 12 Lizard-like amphibian, such as
C a coo
and alders (5) tu et moth of North America (7) the olm or axolotl (10)
10 Nocturnal bird related to the 14 Californian flowering plant with
nightjar – could be short-tailed or DOWN pink petals, named after the clay in 5) the name for a
rufous-bellied (9) 1 Cli of exposed limestone that which it grows (5, 4) female alligator
11 The ___ tern, pale with a dark bill, may be home to nesting ravens or 16 Flying insect sometimes known as
A a cow
nests at RSPB Coquet Island (7) peregrines (4) daddy longlegs (5, 3)
B a sow
13 Colourful neotropical bird, related 2 Plant in the mustard family, named 17 Flowering plant from which sa ron
to the bee-eaters and kingfishers (6) after a US state (6) is derived (6) C a queen
15 Sooty-coloured chat, known for 3 North American shrub, also known as 18 The ___ fir is a native conifer of the
nesting in built-up areas (5, 8) bearberry honeysuckle, that produces Appalachian Mountains (6) 6) the collective noun
19 Fruit tree of Southeast Asia, pairs of dark-coloured fruits (9) 21 Forest bird of Africa and Asia – the for falcons
Baccaurea motleyana (6) 4 Anadromous or ocean-going form of collared finchbill or yellow-throated
20 Member of the Old World songbird the fish Salmo trutta (3, 5) leaflove, for example (6) A a convocation
family Timaliidae (7) 5 Butterfly whose black wings are 22 Ursine mammal (4) B a scold
23 Narrow-bodied predatory fish that patterned with orange and white (3, 7) 25 Genus of damselfly whose name is C a cast
may grow up to 3m in length (6, 3) 6 Large stork of South America that taken from Greek myth (4)
Questions set by ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD
Find out
the answers
on p111
WIN A ‘TURTLE MAT’ WILDLIFE DOORMAT General terms and conditions
1. Visit www.discoverwildlife.com/general
HOW TO ENTER This competition is only open to residents of the UK (including terms-and-conditions-2018 to read the full
the Channel Islands). Post entries to BBC Wildlife Magazine, November terms and conditions. 2. Competitions are
open to all residents of the UK, including the
2018 Crossword, PO Box 501, Leicester, LE94 0AA or email the answers to
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[email protected] by 5pm on 9 November 2018. Entrants employees or contractors of Immediate Media
must supply name, address and telephone number. The winner will be the first and anyone connected with the promotion
correct entry drawn at random after the closing time. The name of the winner will or their direct family members. 3. Entries
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at www.immediate.co.uk/privacy-policy. turtlemat.co.uk 6. Promoter: Immediate Media Co Bristol Ltd.

November 2018 BBC Wildlife 91

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