BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #03

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

“The rarely seen crescent-
ARE BIRDWATCHERS faced antpitta is a bird not
photographed on most
photo tours, and rarely
HAVING AN snapped on a birding tour,
as it requires so much time
to see the bird well enough
IDENTITY CRISIS? for a photo.”
(C) Sam Woods

The merging of
photography
and birding






Anyone who has gone out birding
recently is sure to have noticed
that birdwatchers increasingly use
cameras in addition to, and sometimes
as a replacement for, binoculars.
Photographers are also spending more
time observing birds and wildlife
than they used to. Although the
circumstantial evidence suggests a shift
in focus within the hobby of birding, we
at Tropical Birding wanted to come to
a more empirical understanding of the
shift, in order to best serve our clients.
We did this by surveying thousands
of people through our mailing lists
and Facebook page (facebook.com/
TropicalBirding/), and were elated to
get several hundred responses detailing
people’s changing birding/wildlife
watching/nature photography habits.
The results left us amazed.



OVERLAPPING INTERESTS

& CORRESPONDING TOUR
Let’s start with a Venn diagram
illustrating the interests of birding,
wildlife-watching, and outdoor
photography. Annotated on the diagram
are the types of trips that cater to the
various interests and their overlap-zones.
Although Tropical Birding’s current
set of trips satisfies several sectors of
the diverse interests groups, and we
will always continue to cater to pure
birdwatchers, which have been a key
market of ours. We immediately noticed
that there is NO type of trip that caters
for people with near-equal interests in
both birding and photography. Well, none
until now! Tropical Birding has designed
some trips to cater for the vacant ‘Birding
with a camera’ (BwC) sweet spot!
(Turn page for more info.)

CHANGING INTERESTS OF
TROPICAL BIRDING GUIDES

We also surveyed our guides and trip
leaders to see how their relative interests
had changed in the last decade. They
are all still very keen birdwatchers, and
enjoy guiding pure birding tours, as
well as photography trips and relaxed
custom tours. But when they are enjoying
nature on their own dime, you can see
in the triangular graph below that their
relative interests have converged into
the birding/photography sweet spot (the
shaded zone). With the new ‘Birding with
a Camera’ tours we have designed, the
guides can now serve the interests of
clients who have the same core passions
for both birding and photography.






HOW THE TROPICAL BIRDING PRO GUIDES HAVE CHANGED FOCUS IN TEN YEARS

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE


IT’S NOT JUST THE THERE HAS BEEN A
TROPICAL BIRDING GUIDES PARADIGM SHIFT IN THE
WHOSE INTERESTS WAY WE BIRD, BUT WE ARE
ARE CHANGING STILL BIRDWATCHERS

With responses from over 200 Tropical There has been an undeniable shift in Birdwatchers take photographs with
Birding clients and contacts, we plotted focus for at least 40% of birdwatchers, a variety of equipment, including
the 10-year change within the broader who are now including photography as digi-scoping adaptors, point-and-
birding community. Take a look at the a vital component of their birding. This shoots, micro four-thirds and SLRs with
triangular graph below where you is not necessarily an attempt to take whooping great lenses.
can see the main shift in focus for publication-quality photos, but rather a However the camera is now a vital
respondents: from 2008 in blue (mostly way of preserving a birding experience, tool in their arsenal, even as seeing
strictly birding, though some pure perhaps to share it on social media, and and enjoying birds remains the most
photographers as well), to 2018 in red for many, to aid in the identification of important element of their hobby.
(a birding/photography hybrid). Again, tricky species or to document rarities. (Turn page for more info.)
there has been a shift into the sweet spot.








HOW THE BIRDING COMMUNITY HAS CHANGED FOCUS IN TEN YEARS

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

“Hanging around a roosting
site in Australia for a few TOURS THAT CATER FOR WHERE DOES BIRDING
minutes gets you shots
like this one of a scaly- BIRDING WITH A CAMERA WITH A CAMERA FIT?
breasted lorikeet.”
Is this for you? Imagine dawn in the There will always be pure birdwatchers
Iain Campbell
Australian bush. You are with a small who are not interested in anything other
group on a Tropical Birding BwC tour. than birding. And our dedicated birding
Everyone has binoculars, and is carrying tours will continue to cater to this core
a camera; although they range from interest group. But we also see a need
point-and-shoots to big-lens SLRs. It is for a new product line to provide for the
still twilight, but the dawn chorus is many folks whose interests have shifted;
amazing and your guide is calling out not shifted much, but enough to make a
what is around. difference in the way they want to watch
The regulars, such as Noisy Friarbird, birds, and the way that they travel.
Pied Butcherbird, and Black-faced Pure birdwatchers can celebrate this
Cuckoo-Shrike are all singing. But she development, as it means that camera-
also hears a distant call of the Painted toting birdwatchers are less likely to
Honeyeater, so you go after the rare sign up for a strictly birding itinerary,
bird immediately and get some great preferring our ‘Birding with a Camera’
views, plus noisy record shots. A mixed products. Other companies resistant to the
flock moves through, and you see most changing nature of birding will claim that
things and get a couple of good photos they have been serving the best interests
of Rufous Whistler and Jacky Winter. The of birdwatchers with a photography bent
light improves and a Spotted Pardalote for years. But that is doubtful.
calls nearby. Birdwatchers who love photography
The guide knows that if she works it, all want to be on a trip where they get
the clients will get fantastic shots of this to see lots of birds, and take loads of
snappy-looking bird, so the focus changes photos. They want a guide who is top-
immediately. She says “Guys, this is a tiny notch, who knows the vocalizations,
bird, but it will probably come in really taxonomy and identifying features.
close when I ‘pish’. It is most likely to settle But they also want a guide who knows
on these branches at eye-level so get ready how to photograph birds, understands
for that, and I suggest you set your depth- lighting, camera gear and can teach
of-field to be between f5.6 and f8 so you basic photo processing.
get a good out-of-focus background.” If you have found yourself at the back
The bird duly arrives and everyone gets of the line in a birding group, feeling
cracking photos. Meanwhile, the guide guilty about trying to get that shot or
has noticed a group of Little Lorikeets not wanting to hold the group up, then
high in some tall eucalypts, so she puts maybe you no longer belong on a pure
the spotting scope on them and explains birding tour (although Tropical Birding
that the backlighting is so terrible it is will always continue to service that
best to probably just get good looks at important market), and would do much
these temperamental little parrots, as better surrounded by like-minded hybrid
you might not see them again on tour. birdwatcher-photographers.
“But be quick guys,” she says, “I hear a
Crested Shrike-Tit singing nearby and we
are going to want to see and photograph
that baby”.
Sound appealing? It certainly does to us.















FIND OUT MORE & Visit www.tropicalbirding.com
Email [email protected]
BOOK YOUR PLACE Call +1 409 515 9110

AGENDA HOW OUR VIEWS
ANALYSIS
OF SHARKS
AFFECT THEIR
CONSERVATION

O WHY DO WE STILL BELIEVE THAT
ii UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES | BE PART OF THE SOLUTION SHARKS ARE FRIGHTENING? P62


The Heads Up for
Harriers initiative
in Scotland has put
cameras on the nests
of these birds to obtain
interesting data.
































RAPTOR PLAN DIVIDES OPINION


THE UK GOVERNMENT HAS GIVEN THE HEN HARRIER BROOD MANAGEMENT SCHEME THE GREEN LIGHT.

rood management is an At Natural England, which prey conflict while safeguarding intensive land management
initiative that has aroused issued the licence, chairman important land use.” which is destroying our
Bcontroversy amongst Andrew Sells says the trial will Licence conditions are strict: uplands,” the charity says. The
conservationists and seeks to “allow important evidence to no eggs or juveniles may be RSPB’s conservation director
reduce the predation of grouse be gathered which, I sincerely taken unless there are more Martin Harper blogged of his
chicks from moorland, which hope, will lead to a self-sustaining than two nests within 10km of “deep disappointment” that the
is managed for shooting. The and well-dispersed each other, and any Government’s first action since
licence allows hen harrier breeding population of clutch laid after the publishing its 25-year action plan
eggs and chicks to be removed these beautiful birds DID YOU first has been taken was the licence announcement.
from nests: they will then be across England.” KNOW? is protected. It will, he wrote, “do nothing to
taken for hatching or raising in Amanda Anderson, Nevertheless, address the primary threat to
captivity before the fledglings are director of the Just three pairs the RSPB says it is hen harriers – illegal killing.”
of hen harriers
reintroduced to the wild. Moorland Association were successful in “implacably opposed”, Louise Tickle
PAW Scotland Heads up for Harriers young birds are removed adult licence, saying: “The Scotland, 460 pairs the project would + FIND OUT MORE
calling the idea that
welcomed the
Those in favour hope that if
fledging chicks in
O Would you like to comment? Email
England last year. In
[email protected]
help hen harriers
hen harriers will no longer need
Hen Harrier Brood
bred successfully in
“a nonsense”.
to catch large numbers of grouse
Management Group
2017: though
“It is about
www.gov.uk/government/
this was a nine
chicks necessary to feed their
has sought to provide
per cent drop on
publications/licence-to-
facilitating
a pragmatic solution
brood, so preserving the shooting
on which large estates depend.
BBC Wildlife
March 2018 to a proven predator- 2010 numbers. unsustainably disturb-and-take-hen-harriers 55

25 YEARS TO MAKE A POSITIVE CHANGE



FACTS & FIGURES

The Government says it
will “achieve a growing
and resilient network of
land, water and sea that is
richer in plants and wildlife”.
Measures it says it will
take include:

75% of our one
million
hectares
of terrestrial and freshwater
protected sites will be
restored to make them
valuable for wildlife.

PM Theresa May and
environment secretary
Michael Gove have a
vision for a greener future.


As the Government outlines its Concrete targets include more land when there could
environmental targets, its plan marine conservation zones being be a change of mood
receives mixed reviews. created by 2019 and all avoidable in a few months’
plastic waste being phased out time?” There must,
The plan pledges to
The Government’s publication by 2042. Hilborne says, be an
increase woodland
of “A Green Future: Our 25 But while there has been praise Environment Act in cover in England.
Year Plan to Improve the for Defra’s environmental vision, the next Parliament.
voicing
e
Environment” has been broadly doubts have also been expressed Meanwhile, others are voicing
PM: Dan Kitwood/Getty; ramsons: Getty; saiga: Daniel Rosengren; badger: Tim Hunt/Alamy; Virginia McKenna: Joe Maher/Getty; turtle: Steffen Binke/Alamy
welcomed by conservationists about the plan’s lack of any more pragmatic concerns. At 500,000
who have praised its ambition. statutory teeth. the University of East Anglia, hectares of wildlife-
The plan, created and “The lack of legal environmental expert Prof rich habitat outside the
launched by the Department underpinning is a fundamental Andrew Jordan suggests that protected site network will
for Environment, Farming and flaw,’ says Stephanie Hilborne, Defra, currently embroiled be created/restored, with a
Rural Affairs (Defra) confirms chief executive of The Wildlife in administering Brexit, will focus on priority habitats.
that all European Union Trusts. “What is the point of struggle to deliver on the
environment law will be retained gently urging the horticulture Government’s intentions. woodland
cover in
after Brexit. The Government sector to phase out the use of Louise Tickle 12%
has also committed to consult peat when for decades it has England will
on new planning rules to make been plundering the beautiful + FIND OUT MORE be achieved by 2060. This
it mandatory for development to moors and mosses of the UK? Read the 25 year plan: will involve planting 180,000
hectares by the end of 2042.
benefit biodiversity, and proposes What hope can we draw from a http://bit.ly/2CTW7VH
to create new habitat for wildlife. promise to return wildlife to our


CONSERVATION briefing


RELEASE THE FACTS IVORY IS OVER – I
The Badger Trust says the Government ` IMPLORE ANTIQUES
ES
e
videnc

usiv
e
e
should provide conclusive evidence
ITH
ROA
for the effectiveness oof culling. ROADSHOW TO ‘GET WITH
THE PROGRAMME’”
The Trust says the stuudy on THE
which government relies
states there is only a weak
association between culling
c
Actress and wildlife campaigner Virginia McKenna has
and decreasing rates of TB called o n the BBC to stop featuring antique ivory on its
popular r entertainment show, saying it is “out of touch with h
in one county.
the grea at majority of the British public.”
56 BBC Wildlife March 2018

AGENDA NEWS




BE
Mass mortalities in
saiga antelopes are no BEYOND
longer a mystery.
THE
h
headlines

SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION



WILDLIFE Why aren’t there
PHOTOGRAPHY HAS more female wildlife
TRADITIONALLY photographers?
BEEN THE PRESERVE There’s no single reason.
OF MEN, BUT One factor might be
THERE’S NO REASON physical safety concerns:
WHY THIS CAN’T women are raised not to
CHANGE, SAYS be alone in isolated places
BACTERIA CAUSES DEATHS SUZI ESZTERHAS. and nature photography
requires this. Combining it
OF THOUSANDS OF SAIGA What’s the problem? with motherhood is tough –
Female photographers you often need to be away
We now know why 200,000 and laboratory scientists are in the tiny minority from home for long periods
saiga antelopes suddenly died is helping improve our in this field, and I know and that’s challenging
in a mass mortality event. understanding of the risk factors from personal experience because of mothers’ typical
leading to MMEs – which was that it’s not easy to break role as primary caregivers.
New research has revealed that beneficial when another MME through. But there’s no There’s also a lack of female
a mass mortality event (MME) occurred, this time in Mongolia good reason why it should role models.
that wiped out over 200,000 in 2017,” says lead researcher be male-dominated
saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan in Richard Kock, professor in – I founded Girls
May 2015 was caused by climatic emerging diseases at the Royal Who Click (GWC)
factors. Increased humidity and Veterinary College. “Improved to enthuse and
raised air temperatures triggered knowledge of disease in saigas, encourage young
a bacterial invasion of the in the context of climate change, women to enter
animals’ bloodstreams, leading to livestock interactions and this immensely
death from scepticaemia. landscape changes, is vital to plan fulfilling career. Suzi wants to see
more female wildlife
“The use of data from vets, conservation measures for the
photographers.
biologists, botanists, ecologists species’ long-term survival.” How will you do it?
Through a network
of the country’s most Why weren’t you put off
esteemed female nature nature photography?
The number of wildflower species
532 recorded in bloom in the Botanical photographers, GWC will From being a small child, I
was absolutely obsessed
offer free workshops for
Society of Britain & Ireland’s annual
with being a wildlife
teenage girls across the
New Year Plant Hunt this year. The top
five were daisy, groundsel, dandelion, annual meadow-grass US. Our website will also photographer – nothing
and gorse – all species you’d expect to be in flower in winter. offer young photographers was going to put me off!
an interface through which There were obstacles
to sell their best work, to overcome but I never
with all proceeds going to seriously considered giving
conservation organisations up. I was also fortunate
around the world. in having mentors who
believed in me and gave me
Can GWC help UK women the confidence I needed
NO BOYS IN BLUE
photographers? to stick with it. It’s exactly
With green turtles’ gender
Not yet, but we hope to go this kind of difference Girls
determined by incubation
global once funding has Who Click is trying to make
temperatures, hotter weather
been secured. Right now, in young girls’ lives.
caused by climate change
we’d be delighted if teenage
is resulting in more female
hatchlings being born on the Great girls elsewhere signed up to SUZI ESZTERHAS is an award-
Barrier Reef. “We’re now seeing our newsletter and followed winning wildlife photographer
virtually no males,” says WWF- our social media, where and founder of Girls Who Click:
http://girlswhoclick.org Amber Hockeborne
Australia’s Dermot O‘Gorman. we’ll be posting lots of
O Want to comment? Email
helpful information. [email protected]
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 57

AGENDA NEWS



EXPERT BRIEFING
CONSERVATION



INSIGHT







AMAZON RIVER DOLPHIN


DAM-BUILDING AND OVERFISHING
BOTH IMPACT THE AMAZON’S RIVER
DOLPHINS AND MUST BE CURBED,
SAYS FERNANDO TRUJILLO.

iver dolphins of the Inia connectivity, creating massive
genus arrived in the impacts for migratory fish that
RAmazon two million years dolphins feed on.
ago and are superbly adapted The other major issue is the
to its rivers and flooded forests. sheer number of people living
Unlike other dolphins, their in the Amazon – about 34
vertebrae are not fused, giving million – that has increased
greater flexibility for hunting pressure on fish stocks, with
among tangled roots, and they somewhere between
have incredible echolocation 170–300 species AMAZON
capabilities for finding fish. taken to be eaten. ` RIVER
But it’s very likely that a new River dolphins are
assessment being carried out by also killed to be DOLPHINS ARE
the IUCN will see all Inia used as bait to catch KILLED TO BE
dolphins – there is currently one a catfish that is
recognised species, two called piracatinga. USED AS BAIT
discovered species and possibly a Although there is TO CATCH
fourth species in the Orinoco currently a five-year
basin – as Critically Endangered moratorium on PIRACATINGA.”
because of the decline in their piracatinga fishing
populations and the threats they in Brazil, and it’s
face. Our assessments suggest banned completely in
there are 30,000–40,000 in total Colombia, dolphins are still
2
spread over 7 million km of the targeted. In some areas, locals
Amazon Basin. blame the dolphins for eating
The biggest problem river fish and shoot or poison them.
Doc White/naturepl.com 155 operating within the entire the dams but we can
We don’t believe we can stop
dolphins face is dams – there are
recommend which rivers
basin, and another 277 are
should be avoided to limit the
planned. Think about the river
impacts on dolphins.
system as a heart – dams block its
Sustainable dolphin watching
RIVER DOLPHIN DISTRIBUTION
Amazon could also help – one part of
VENEZ UELA Orinoco Colombia has 50,000 visitors a
Bolivian year and they go there mainly
ra
ra
Ar Ar
C O L OMBIA Araguaian boto to see the river dolphins.
Amazon
DR FERNANDO TRUJILLO is founder and
scientific director of Fundación Omacha
and a Whitley y Award winner.
BRAZIL
PER U + FIND OUT MORE
Fundación Omacha
BOLIVIA http://bit.ly/2D1mA6T
58 BBC Wildlife March 2018

AGENDA NEWS




















































FACT FILE
AMAZON RIVER
DOLPHIN
INIA SPP
HABITAT Large rivers, lakes
and flooded forests
DIET A wide variety of fish,
shellfish and occasional
small turtles
THREATS Dam-building,
overfishing and persecution
! IUCN RED LIST STATUS
DATA DEFICIENT














Amazon river
dolphins, also
known as botos, use
echolocation to find
prey in murky waters.

March 2018 BBC Wildlife 59

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AGENDA OPINION




Mark Carwardine’s

AT A GLANCE...







26 NATIONAL PARKS




WHAT IS A downgraded, reduced in size fracking is already permitted,
NATIONAL PARK? or eliminated altogether. about to be permitted, or
That depends on where you Their precious land is actively encouraged. And
are, because each country being taken away or the parks are full of
designates its national parks altered to accommodate active livestock farms,
differently. There is, however, mining, logging and villages and even quite
an official definition agreed other damaging substantial towns (no
by the International Union commercial activities, fewer than 112,000
for Conservation of Nature or to alleviate pressure people live in South
(IUCN): in a nutshell, it is for land caused by Pembrokeshire Downs National Park,
a large, naturally beautiful, growing human Coast National for example).
ecologically rich area, relatively populations. Park is one of
three National
unaltered by people, with WHAT ABOUT
Parks in Wales.
legal protection for its wildlife WHAT ABOUT THE UK? WILDLIFE?
and habitats, that promotes Our first – the Peak District The truth is that our
education and recreation. The National Park – was created national parks are not chunks
best national parks are hugely in 1951. Now there are 10 of untouched wilderness
popular – America’s alone in England covering 9.3% set aside and protected for
had a staggering 82.8 million of the land area; two in ` MOST OF their wildlife and habitats.
visitors in 2016 – and protect Scotland covering 7.2%; OUR NATIONAL In fact, they fall into a
some of the most important and three in Wales covering different IUCN category
areas of biodiversity on Earth. 19.9%. Northern Ireland is PARKS HAVE altogether – protected areas
currently considering its first, NOW LOST ANY that are ‘managed mainly
WHEN WAS THE FIRST in the Mourne Mountains. for landscape/seascape
NATIONAL PARK SET UP? They include well-known FAVOURABLE protection and recreation’.
Protected areas of one kind and popular places such as CONSERVATION Time and again, commercial
or another have existed for at the Pembrokeshire Coast, considerations are given
least 2,000 years, but national Dartmoor, the New Forest, STATUS THEY priority over environmental
parks are much more recent. the Yorkshire Dales and EVER HAD.” concerns. And most of our
Yellowstone, established in the Cairngorms. national parks have now lost
1872, famously claims to be the any favourable conservation
world’s first. However, there are THAT SOUNDS GOOD? status they ever had.
other legitimate claims to the Not really. Unfortunately,
title – most notably Bogd Khan none of them meets IUCN’s WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
Uul, established in Mongolia in standards for a national park. Many people argue that
1778 (it’s never been a national Unlike national parks in the national park system in
park by name, but ticks all the America, for example – which the UK needs to reinvent
right boxes). Now, there are are owned by the nation and itself, or at least move into a
6,555 ‘official’ national parks strictly prohibit activities such new phase. It is in an ideal
around the world, in nearly 100 as hunting, livestock grazing, position to protect large-scale
countries. They range in size mining and logging (though ecological processes and,
MARK CARWARDINE
from tiny 22-acre Moyenne there are changes afoot under is a frustrated and more than that, should be
frank conservationist.
Island, in the Seychelles, to the the Trump administration) at the forefront of restoring
Every month he
Northeast Greenland National – ours are neither national, demystifies some of the the wildlife and wild
2
Park – at 971,000km , four nor parks. Most of the land most important issues places that we have so
affecting the world’s
times the size of the UK. is privately owned (by a wildlife and assesses comprehensively lost.
Geography Photos/Getty ARE THEY ALL companies, local councils that protect it. + FIND OUT MORE
patchwork of individuals,
the organisations
WELL PROTECTED?
and charities). Everything
O Would you like to
UK National Parks:
comment? Email
Some are, many are not.
from grouse shooting and
www.nationalparks.gov.uk
wildlifeletters@
They are increasingly being
March 2018 mining to logging and immediate.co.uk BBC Wildlife 61

AGENDA ANALYSIS






Ragged tooth sharks may look
intimidating but are relatively
placid. Deadly 60 presenter Steve
Backshall had no qualms when he
spent time beside them in a tank
at the London Aquarium.



























Ragged tooth shark: Alex Mustard/NPL; Jaws poster: World History Archive/Alamy; hammerhead
sharks: Franco Banfi/NPL; Steve Backshall: Bite-Back; Donald Trump: Mandel Ngan/Getty













IT WAS ALWAYS SAFE



TO GO IN THE WATER





WHY DO WE he larger sharks are then, on the bottom, there are conservation charity Bite-Back,
PERSEVERE IN THE ragged tooth or sand nurse sharks.” which in a public opinion
We’re at the London
tiger sharks,” Deadly
BELIEF THAT SHARKS T60 presenter Steve Aquarium, and Backshall is survey carried out towards the
end of 2017 found out that more
ARE TERRIFYING Backshall says, pointing at the trying to put my mind at rest people are terrified of sharks than
CREATURES THAT 2m-long creatures swimming because in a few minutes we’re of spiders, snakes and rodents
ONLY WANT TO RIP US in lazy circles in front of us. going to be putting on masks combined. Nearly two-thirds (64
per cent) of those polled
uits and getting into
TO PIECES? AND HOW Fine, needle-like teeth sprout and wetsuits and getting into per cent) of those poll
said they would ra
with the sharks.
DOES THAT AFFECT from the front of their mouths the tank with the sharks. said they would rather
sharks didn’t exi
these sharks
THE WAY WE PROTECT like a bony pin-cushion. “Those But hey – these sharks sharks didn’t exist.
Bite-Back’s fou
Bite-Back’s founder
only eat fish, so I’ve got
teeth work by trapping fish as if
sh, so I’ve got
AND CONSERVE in a cage, and they would never nothing to worry about. and only paid mem
and only paid member
o worry about.
THEM? JAMES FAIR be able to eat a marine mammal Backshall is here of staff, Graham
of staff, Graham
all is here
Buckingham, believes
ing the
INVESTIGATES. such as a seal. The smaller ones representing the Buckingham, believ
this fear and loathing
are blacktip reef sharks. They’re shark this fear and loathing is
one reason why humans, as
obligate fish-eaters, too. And Trump has Tweeted one reason why human
his fear of sharks.
March 2018
62 BBC Wildlife Mar c

AGENDA ANALYSIS





Schooling scalloped MY FAVOURITE
hammerhead sharks:
would you make a SHARK SPECIES
beeline for the surface
or stay and watch?
Three divers share their
enthusiasm for sharks.









STEVE BACKSHALL
TV presenter
My favourite sharks are
TASSELLED WOBBEGONGS.
They have extraordinary
cryptic camouflage, an
outline broken up by fringes
and tassels, and they lie on
the seabed waiting for a fish
– Jaws. But Backshall isn’t MORE to come close by and then
convinced that you can ` – bam! – they suck it in.
solely blame the 1975 PEOPLE ARE They are very beautiful.
blockbuster for turning TERRIFIED OF
them into the monsters
from the deep. SHARKS THAN
“There’s something OF SPIDERS,
about that primal terror SNAKES AND
of being in an alien
environment,” he says. RATS COMBINED”
“We’re somewhere
we automatically feel GRAHAM BUCKINGHAM
vulnerable, and then about it,’ which I thought was Bite-Back
you’ve got this massive a bit flippant.” I’d have to choose SILKY
creature that looks like In fact, Buckingham gradually sharks. They’re inquisitive,
hell on Earth. It’s kind realised that shark encounters beautifully shark-shaped and,
of natural for you to be were very rare, and he began to because they’re curious, over
frightened of it.” wonder why he wasn’t seeing time they will come to you, and
Bite-Back’s Graham them more often. It didn’t take so they’ve been some of my
Buckingham agrees. “When I him long to discover the shark closest encounters. The time I
learned to dive, I was anxious. fin trade – in which sharks are saw whale sharks in Honduras,
There was this unsaid thing caught and often have their fins I genuinely dreamed about
– we’ll be in the water with cut off before being dumped back them afterwards. It was an
sharks,” he recalls. “The dive into the water alive – was taking incredibly special encounter.
instructor just said, ‘Don’t worry tens of millions of them every

a species, continue to slaughter
sharks in almost unimaginable
numbers – an estimated 100 Tasselled wobbegong: Waterframe/Alamy; silky shark: Pete Oxford/Minden/FLPA; pyjama shark: Poelzer Wolfgang/Alamy
million a year, according to
research published in 2013.
Sharks are long-lived and slow KATHRYN CURZON
maturing and reproducing Friends for Sharks
animals, and such a level of For me it has to be PYJAMA
exploitation is unsustainable. SHARKS, simply because
they are stripy. But I have
THE JAWS EFFECT swum with them in South
Attempting to get most people Africa, and they are tiny and
in the western world to start Steve Backshall is raising really nice to be with. I really
feeling sympathy for sharks awareness of shark like bull sharks, too – they’re
generally screeches to a halt with conservation. Inset above very relaxed.
left: a Jaws film poster.
the mention of a single word
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 63

AGENDA ANALYSIS




year. This culminated in him
wandering into his local Chinese HOW TO BE SAFE WITH SHARKS
restaurant in Clapham, south
London, to ask them why they O swimming in smooth curves, it
had shark-fin soup on the menu. dusk so avoid these times. will turn in angular corners.
“It was a good conversation,
but the manager told me sharks O Avoid low visibility water for O If you are scuba diving and
were bad, scary animals, so the same reasons – if a shark feel threatened by a shark, go to Diving with
I took in newspaper cuttings mistakes you for its real prey, the seabed (if you can). Sharks sharks can
about shark populations to then you could get bitten. like to attack from behind, so be thrilling.
show him there was a problem,” this cuts down the areas where
Buckingham says. That led O If you are diving or swimming they can come from. when they realise that a person
him to set up Bite-Back, which unguided, avoid seal colonies at is not a food source.
engages its membership of any time of day or year. O Keep eye contact with the
about 800 people to persuade shark – if they can see that O Finally, don’t panic – panic
restaurants and retailers to stop O If a shark feels threatened by they’ve been seen, they are less may make sharks curious, so
selling shark products. you being too close, it may arch likely to come and investigate. don’t thrash around.
its back, drop its fins, gape its
PERSUASIVE PUBLIC jaws and swim in a less fluid, O In cases where sharks bite, Tips from Kathryn Curzon
Since it was founded in 2004, more jerky fashion. Instead of they do it once and quickly let go of Friends for Sharks.
Bite-Back has persuaded Asda to
stop selling 100,000 portions of
mako and thresher shark every
year, 583 outlets of Holland & “There’s a single port in FRANCE, Back at the London Aquarium,
Vigo [in Galicia] that’s landing
Barrett not to stock capsules 500 blue sharks a day,” says ` it’s time for Steve Backshall and
containing shark cartilage and USA, SPAIN me to get into the tank, and at
some 80 restaurants to withdraw Buckingham. “I would say this AND PORTUGAL this point I discover that we will
shark-fin soup from their menus. overarching belief that sharks actually be confined to a rope
“Five years ago, there were 63 are bad animals has created a ARE ALL IN ‘cage’ with a glass bottom from
restaurants in the UK selling blind spot that allows them to THE TOP 20 OF where we watch the sharks
shark-fin soup,” he says. “Today be fished at such a ferocious going round in circles.
there are about 20.” rate because nobody cares.” SHARK-FISHING Speaking to Backshall
But while most Bite-Back’s thesis is NATIONS.” afterwards is perhaps more
shark fins are ON THE that by trying to change illuminating. He’s had more than
consumed in Asian people’s minds and 1,000 dives with sharks and says
countries, that MENU raising awareness of about how she could help after he’s never felt nervous or at risk
doesn’t exonerate the threat to the ocean’s sustaining a back injury in 2014 with any of them. All the experts
the west, which does 63 top predators, public that stopped her from working as I talk to say the key thing is to
a lot of their dirty opinion will gradually a guide in South Africa’s lucrative respect the sharks as predators.
work. Spain, France, UK restaurants demand a reduction great white shark cage-diving Backshall says that most of
Portugal and the USA sold shark fin in – and hopefully business. With her now husband, the time sharks are completely
soup in 2012.
are all in the top 20 of even a complete end Nick Curzon, she set up Friends ambivalent towards people. “In
shark-fishing nations to – current levels of for Sharks, with the intention of clear water, when we’ve had
and Spain takes the 20 shark exploitation. giving public lectures that would a chance to assess the body
third highest tonnage UK restaurants Kathryn Curzon aim to suggest alternative ideas language of individual sharks,
of any country. sold it in 2017. started to think about the true nature of sharks. we’ve had dozens of dives with
During a world tour in 2015 great whites and everyone has
they held 87 events in eight so far been fine.”
countries to 7,144 people, visiting sharks now? And does it make
So how do you feel about
Blacktip reef shark: David Fleetham/NPL; shark finning: Brian Skerry/Getty SEEING A SOFTER SIDE they suffer and how we should
schools, universities, museums
any difference to what you think
and assorted public groups.
about the level of exploitation
go about eliminating it?
“Rather than specifically saying
you shouldn’t be scared of sharks,
we tell stories about them,”
+ FIND OUT MORE
Curzon tells me. “We aim to
Bite-Back Shark & Marine
portray them as the gentle, calm,
Conservation: www.bite-back.
placid creatures they are, and let
com; Friends for Sharks:
people realise for themselves they
www.friendsforsharks.com;
are nothing to be scared of. We
London Aquarium ‘Snorkelling
73 million sharks
people will start to care, and that’s
http://bit.ly/2Gizmg1
mainly for their fins.
when conservation happens.”
March 2018
64 BBC Wildlife are killed every year, believe that by reducing this fear, with Sharks’ experience:

READER
HOLIDAY With a bit of luck, you
may get to see and
photograph orcas
during this holiday.





















Go on a photographic



safari in Shetland


Take the
opportunity to
track otters with
Take amazing images of British species with other experienced
BBC Wildlife readers on this exciting seven-night trip. guides.

oin wildlife photographers David With the support of two HOLIDAY DETAILS
Tipling and Brydon Thomason in 14 July experienced leaders and the
Jthe enchanting Shetland Islands to 21 July Shetland Nature team, you will SATURDAY 14 JULY
on this exclusive BBC Wildlife reader 2018 have hands-on photography – SATURDAY 21 JULY 2018
e
holiday. Organised by Shetland Nature, tuition throughout your stay. Most
the specially designed itinerary is aimed at of the excursions will be in small COST
people with a passion for wildlife who want to groups, apart from rotations when using £1,590
get more out of their nature photography. purpose-built hides to see northern
Group size: Maximum 10
Learn about the fascinating breeding birds and during a day of
cultural heritage of the otter tracking. Otters are very much a TO BOOK OR
Shetland Islands, speciality of Shetland Nature tours
enjoy the archipelago’s and the opportunity to photograph CONTACT SHETLAND NATURE:
unspoiled beauty and them is one of the highlights of this 01595 760 333
encounter an array of action-packed week.
exciting species, including Special target birds in your [email protected]
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phalaropes, frog orchids and great skuas, black-guillemots, curlews,
orcas (this is one of the best golden and ringed plovers, and northern FOR FULL INFORMATION:
places in the UK to see them). gannets – you will travel on a chartered www.discoverwildlife.com/reader-
boat to capture their feeding frenzy. It is holiday/shetland
WHAT’S INCLUDED important to us that we take time with
each species and location so you can
l Track and l Seven nights’ appreciate the experience – you are on
photograph accommodation at
Shetland’s otters Sumburgh Hotel and holiday after all.
Saxa Vord Resort
l Photograph northern MEET YOUR GUIDES
breeding birds from l Breakfast, packed
purpose-built hides lunch and evening DAVID TIPLING is one BRYDON THOMASON
l Chartered boat to meal each day of the UK’s leading is a native Shetlander
photograph gannets wildlife photographers. with over 30 years’
l All on-island
He first visited the isles experience of the
l Travel with two transport, excursions in 1982 and has been a islands’ wildlife. He
Brydon Thomason Not included: travel to and from Shetland, hotel bar/room near annual summer established Shetland
and ferry fares
esteemed guides
visitor since. This year
Nature just over 10 years
tabs, alcoholic drinks, tips, travel insurance and other items
ago and is co-author of
he will lead his 60th
of a personal nature.
r
a
Otters in Shetland.
y
r
et
l
a
Set a d t e a y.
S
h
t
in
e
n
d
i
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 65

Photos by Anup Shah
and Fiona Rogers

































LOVE AND AFFECTION
As any human parent knows, the bond that
develops between us and our offspring
is one of the most powerful there is. The
same is true of other great apes, which like
us reproduce slowly and have relatively few
babies, investing huge amounts of time in
their care. Female orangutans do not breed
until they are 10–15 years old, bearing
just one infant every 5–10 years. Here, a
rehabilitated female Borneo orangutan
known by researchers as Unyuk cuddles
her four-year-old, Ursula, at Camp Leakey
in Tanjung Puting National Park, Indonesia.
She is clearly very attached to her daughter
and the youngster returns that closeness.


































66 March 2018

EXPRESSIONS








SURPRISE
Wide-eyed and open-mouthed, a family
of Japanese macaques react as their
languid soak in a thermal spring is rudely
interrupted. The slack-jawed snow
monkeys are responding to a commotion
in the distance, and are still trying to make
sense of it. They don’t look too concerned,
though: these are not faces filled with fear.






EXPRESS YOURSELF






When primates pull faces they tell you a lot more than words
alone could, say Anup Shah, Fiona Rogers and Dr Ben Garrod.


hether it’s a slightly raised flirty of emotions using their faces – especially their
eyebrow, an annoyed narrowing mouths, ears and eyes. This is one reason why great
of the eyes, a furrowed brow apes and monkeys are endlessly rewarding animals
or angrily bared teeth, we are to watch. Yet we have an often-subconscious
a social species heavily reliant tendency to attribute human behaviour to animals
W on non-verbal communication. without any scientific support. Anthropomorphism,
But while body language is hugely important, it is as it is known, causes countless problems in
our faces that paint the fullest picture. With a large behavioural studies, and undermines our broader
number of muscles, our faces can convey both understanding of animals. So we have to be careful
extreme and subtle facial expressions, depending not to see things that aren’t strictly there.
what we want to say. Group living is not easy, so To understand what’s going in the mind of an
it’s crucial that as an individual you’re able to keep orangutan or langur, it also helps to remember that
others happy or show them you’re not to be messed each expression is like a mosaic of jigsaw pieces. You
with (depending on your status, of course). have to look at them all together to get the complete
Although no other primates can match our array picture. With practice, however, you’ll start picking
of facial expressions, many display a wide range up the basics of what our relatives are trying to say.









DISTRESS
Anxiety is etched across the
face of this tiny Hanuman langur
from India, only a few weeks
old. Its mouth is completely
open, with teeth exposed out
of apprehension. A juvenile
female langur had just taken
the infant from its mother and
had been holding it. At first the
baby appeared relaxed, but then
another young female approached.
With this look the baby is signalling
a preference for its present minder.



March 2018 BBC Wildlife 67

CURIOSITY
A group of inquisitive young Celebes crested
macaques are fascinated by their reflection
in the camera lens. They are pictured in
Tangkoko National Park on the Indonesian
island of Sulawesi, where the Critically
Endangered macaques have become used
to humans. Every time a photographer
approaches they gather round, captivated, to
stare at themselves in the glass. Now, it is a
fact that 18-month-old human children take
a while before they recognise themselves in
a mirror. So it’s possible that some notion of
self-recognition is beginning to dawn in the
minds of these youngsters.





























68 BBC Wildlife March 2018

EXPRESSIONS




































TELLING OFF
This alpha-male lion-tailed macaque, part of a troop that
lives in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in India’s Western Ghats,
is flashing his eyes – a disciplinary expression. The message
is clear: “Stop it!” He is directing the stern visual rebuke at a
group of adolescent males, who had started playing on the
trail nearby. Momentarily, it seemed that the romping would
escalate into a rumpus, so perhaps the dominant male is
using this dressing down to assert authority, keep order and
prevent the squabble from getting out of hand.






















SUBMISSION
Expressions that convey capitulation or
compliance are vital in social primates,
providing an important way of defusing
tension and appeasing higher-ranking
group members. By adopting a low
posture this Celebes crested macaque
(right) is asking to hold the baby of
another, more dominant female. The
sub-adult long-tailed macaque (far left)
is demonstrating its lower status by
grooming a more senior female, while
the pleading female Hanuman langur
(left) is offering a quick apology to a
superior that she has crossed.
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 69

EXPRESSIONS

THREAT
It might look as if these female Ethiopian
geladas (main image) have heard a joke,
but they’re warning off females from
another family. Their threat involves
flipping the upper lip back over the nostril
to bare teeth and gums. Revealing how
big your canine teeth are demonstrates
your readiness to fight, as also shown by
this male Hanuman langur (below left).














































































70 BBC Wildlife March 2018

WILDLIFE ART





PLEASURE
Laughter is one of those universal things
few of us can misinterpret – and we’re not
the only animals to do it. Chimpanzees
have a sense of humour and generally
enjoy themselves. They also laugh. There
is no doubt these two young chimps
from Bossou Forest in Guinea (below) are
laughing: their body language is relaxed,
there’s no tension around their faces and
their mouths are open with the lower
teeth exposed and upper teeth covered.
Meanwhile, this female western lowland
gorilla (right) appears to be in ecstasy,
relishing the rush of butterfly wings
around her in a forest clearing.








AGGRESSION
Stares, yawns and grimaces
showing you mean business
are usually enough to sort out
rivalries before arguments
between monkeys escalate.
Should these threats go
unheeded, physical aggression
may result. Here, a male olive
baboon from Kenya’s Maasai
Mara has become agitated,
chasing a younger baboon with
his hair standing on end.



DOMINANCE
We’ve all seen that person strutting
down the high street, letting the
world know they’re not someone
who can be pushed around. But
such swaggering behaviour didn’t
first appear in humans. This female
long-tailed macaque in Borneo is
vulnerable due to her tiny baby, so
is going on the offensive to assert
her social status. She has raised her
eyebrows up high, pulled back her
ears, exposed the skin around her
eyes and is making eye contact.






ANUP DR BEN
SHAH GARROD is an
and evolutionary
FIONA ROGERS are biologist, primatologist
award-winning wildlife and BBC presenter.
photographers who His TV credits
specialise in primates: include BBC One’s
www.shahrogers Attenborough and the
photography.com Giant Dinosaur.
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 71

BONE idol








The lammergeier became extinct in Spain’s Picos de Europa mountains

60 years ago. Now, thanks to some ingenious parenting, this bone-gulping
vulture is resurgent in far northern Spain. Paul Bloomfield reports.
















































Staffan Widstrand/naturepl.com The lammergeier is one
of the most impressive
Old World vultures. Its diet
includes a large proportion
of bones (as much as 85
per cent) and it mainly
gets nutrition from the
ossein in the bone matrix.



road-winged shadows circled overhead, one
above another, above another – after 10, I
lost count. On a searing June afternoon, the
cerulean skies over the Cares Gorge were as
congested as Heathrow during an air-traffic
control meltdown, but these were vultures,
not 747s, wheeling on high. I trained my
Bbinoculars on the cruising birds, hoping to
spy the diamond-wedge tail of a lammergeier among the
soaring griffons. In theory, it should be easy to identify
this most distinctive of raptors. In theory.
“Even without making out its tail, you should be
able to distinguish its flight,” observed Carmen Calero,
biologist with the Fundación para la Conservación del
Quebrantahuesos (FCQ), as we hiked along northern
Spain’s most dramatic canyon. “Rather than circling
slowly like a griffon, the lammergeier tends to fly
along the rock walls; it’s more agile, its silhouette is
more slender. So, if you’re familiar with it, you can
normally identify one from afar...” Then she gave a wry
smile…“normally.” In fact, there are many species with
which to mistake them here in the Cares Gorge, which
slices through the spectacular limestone Picos de Europa
mountains 20km inland from the Bay of Biscay. And
today, the lammergeiers were playing hard to get. Even
the experienced eyes of Carmen and local guide Diego
Martín failed to spy any among the griffons.
Up close, there’s no mistaking the lammergeier for
anything else, even its nearest relative, the Egyptian
vulture. The pale underparts and neck of this




DARK PATCHES ON ITS FACE STREAM LIKE

MASCARA FROM RED EYE RINGS, ENDING
BELOW THE BILL IN A TUFTY ‘BEARD’.














Clockwise from bottom left: Markus Varesvuo/NPL; David Tipling/NPL; Henri Martin/Alamy; Wild Wonders of Europe/Elander/NPL; FCQ




















74 BBC Wildlife March 2018 Xxxxx xxxx

LAMMERGEIERS





FLYING HIGH


Lammergeiers have been reintroduced to the
Alps and may connect with birds in the Picos.
The last documented wild lammergeier in the Alps was
shot in Italy’s Aosta Valley in 1913. A reintroduction
project was initiated in 1978 but, unlike the Picos
p
y
project, it involves only captive-bred chicks whose
a
w
r
e dr
parents were drawn from European
n
r
ope
an
u
r
f
om E
ng
t
hough a similar hacki
zoo stock, though a similar hacking
technique is used at release. Since
s used at release. Since
oduction in F
tr
n
e’
s
r
anc
the first reintroduction in France’s
Haute-Savoie region in 1986,
oie region in 1986,
more than 200 lammergeiers
200 lammergeiers
released in
have been released in
d, France and Italy,
Switzerland, France and Italy,
150 wild-hatched
and around 150 wild-hatched
birds have now fledged. It’s
now fledged. It’s
hoped that Alpine populations
Alpine populations
may naturally connect with
lly connect with
those in the Pyrenees and
e Pyrenees and
newly released
the Picos, newly released
dalucia,
birds in Andalucia,
and possibly y
with the few w
Handful: an adult
wild birds in n
is kitted out with
a.
North Africa.
a transmitter
and wing tags.
enormous raptor – a female’s dark-plumed wings span up to Clockwise from but because a protective sheath around bone protects
3m – develop a rusty hue from wallowing in iron oxide-rich top left: griffon nutrients, even year-old bones provide a good meal.
vultures lead
soil. Most striking is the characteristic from which it takes Bones, rocks to break them on, cliffs to nest in: these are
lammergeiers to
its specific name Gypaetus barbatus, ‘vulture-eagle with fresh carcasses; the three things lammergeiers need. Unsurprisingly, the
beard’. Dark patches on its face stream like mascara from an adult and species is widely scattered, with populations in north, east
red sclerotic eye rings, ending below the bill in a tufty ‘beard’ juvenile squabble and southern Africa (the largest in Ethiopia), and across
– hence its English name: bearded vulture. over food; Asia from Turkey and the Caucasus through the Himalayas.
lammergeiers, or
The more-romantic ‘lammergeier’, or lamb’s vulture, However, its IUCN Near Threatened status reflects a global
bearded vultures
was coined in German because of the mistaken archaic as they are also estimate of fewer than 7,000 mature individuals.
belief that the bird snatches lambs, even children. More known, can In Europe, the situation is acute, populations
accurate is the Spanish quebrantahuesos, ‘breaker of forage over vast decimated last century by hunting and, more recently,
distances using
bones’, because the adult lammergeier is the only known poisoning. The last lammergeier in the Alps was shot
soaring flight; an
vertebrate whose diet is almost exclusively bone. It feeds adult swallows a in the early 20th century, though areas of France,
mainly on ungulates – here in Spain that’s chamois, leg bone. Switzerland, Austria and Italy have been artificially
sheep, domesticated and feral goats – swallowing smaller repopulated. In Spain, hunting was promoted by
bones whole, and dropping bigger ones onto rocks to Franco’s government, and in the 1950s meat baited
smash them into 20–25cm chunks. with strychnine to kill wolves and foxes devastated
lammergeier and griffon numbers. The last known
BONE BREAKERS lammergeier in the Picos died that decade, around the
The lammergeier’s singular diet was one reason we same time that the wolf was extirpated.
were scouring the gorge. “See the rock pile beneath Both wolf and lammergeier are now back in the Picos
the avalanche chute opposite?” Diego pointed to the – the latter’s return thanks to a groundbreaking project
bottom of a scree slope. “We call that a rompedero – a established by the FCQ. This NGO was founded in 1995
bone-smashing spot.” Powerful acid and enzymes in the to protect the bird’s last viable reservoir population in
bird’s digestive system process ossein, the collagen-based the Pyrenees, where they now number 300–400. Recent
organic component of bone. Such a niche diet offers studies led by vulture specialist Antoni Margalida found
several advantages. “You might see huge numbers of that though mated pairs use a relatively small home
2
griffon vultures squabbling over the meat on a carcass,” range, typically around 50km , young birds range vast
observed Diego. “But the lammergeier can conserve distances in search of territory and mates. And when
its energy and avoid conflict, sitting back and waiting sightings from the past 30 years were mapped, the
till the others have finished the meat.” Fresh bones are research revealed a clear corridor of movement between
best, scraps of meat providing added nourishment, the Pyrenees and Picos de Europa.
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 75

LAMMERGEIERS






































HOURS OF PRACTICE ENABLED CARMEN

TO MIMIC THE MOVEMENTS OF ADULT
BIRDS FROM BEHIND A BLACK CURTAIN.



The Picos provide ideal territory. There’s ample nesting Clockwise After a couple of weeks a chick begins to interact with
habitat and food, and the Picos de Europa National Park from top left: a the puppet as it would a real parent. About 40 days later
tagged sub-adult
enhances protection. Despite the attractive habitat, though, it’s moved to an open-sided cage at a hacking site in the
lammergeier is
if incoming birds can’t find potential mates they won’t released; José tips Pyrenees, where it can see wild birds. Then, in late June or
settle here. So, in 2002 the FCQ launched a reintroduction sheep offal onto early July, perhaps three weeks before it’s ready to fledge
project to establish an anchor population. The first birds a slope to attract aged about 100 days, it’s transferred to the release site in the
were released in 2010 and, with the latest release of four griffon vultures Picos, above a feeding station. Once the cage is opened it
and lammergeiers;
youngsters in July 2017, the reintroduced population now will hop about for a few days before taking off.
he uses a radio
numbers 14 (three having died since release). telemetry kit to Two days after our Cares hike, I joined field technician
track the vultures; José Carlos Gonzalez on his weekly trip to top up the
PUPPET PARENTING the Egyptian feeding station above Covadonga, in the national park’s
Clockwise from top left: FCQ: Paul Bloomfield (x2); Steve Taylor ARPS/Alamy; David Kjaer/naturepl.com
vulture is the
Somewhat controversially, these birds were sourced not lofty north-west. Omens for a lammergeier encounter
lammergeier’s
from captive-bred stock but by hatching eggs retrieved closest relative. were poor as our truck chugged through a dense pea-
from ‘problem’ nests in the Pyrenees – those with a history souper. “They won’t fly in this cloud,” José sighed.
e
ee
f
T
h
h
d
ate
b
of minimal or no breeding success. These are incubated “ “The feeding station isn’t maintained to provide
d
t
g
in
ese are incu
s
in a breeding centre in the Pyrenees and, once hatched, nutrition for l a ammergeiers,” he explained. “There’s
n
raised using a novel technique based oon one developed for plenty of fo od for them in the Picos. It’s really a
o
California condors. Extinct in the wild since 1987, captive- training to ol. The food attracts griffon vultures,
o
bred condors were nurtured by puppett ‘parents’ before and young lammergeiers learn to look for
ntify the location of fresh carcasses.”
release. Carmen, whose hand has occuupied one such them to ide n
lammergeier puppet, explained more. When vision is limit e ed to just a few metres, as it was that
“Lammergeiers are dedicated parentts. Mother and murky Friday, they s i imply sit it out.
g
father alternate incubating and raising offspring – On arrival, José u nlocked the gates and rolled two
n
the chick is never left unattended. We ddo the same.” hefty blue barrels off f the flatbed. The slope below
math of a particularly gruesome
From the first few days after hatching iin February resembled the after m
h bloody bones. Soon it looked (and
or March, Carmen operates an incredibbly detailed battle, scattered wit h
and lifelike latex puppet head from behind a smelled) much wors e, as José tipped out 100kg of sheep
e
h
b
black curtain, never speaking to avoid aany risk offal, accompanied by a repulsive flabby sloshing like
L
of the chicks imprinting on humans. Long a punctured waterbe d. That was followed by a similar
he stench was unbelievable, and I
hours of practice enabled her to mimicc the volume of bones. T h
movements of adult birds feeding hatcchlings with a 90 per was happy to retreat to a viewing point well above the
e
cent meat diet, gradually increasing the proportion of bone. gory banquet.
76 BBC Wildlife March 2018

HOW TO SEE SPAIN’S LAMMERGEIERS

WHERE TO GO See www.aena.es for flight details
Spotting a wild lammergeier in the and www.brittany-ferries.co.uk for
Picos de Europa is tricky, even in a ferry information.
hotspot such as the Cares Gorge.
Between June and September the TOUR COMPANIES
FCQ runs weekly guided visits to The Lammergeier Visitor Centre in
the release and feeding sites, often Benia de Onís (+34 985 844 293; It was a reminder that in lammergeiers, which can
rewarded with sightings. For a near- www.quebrantahuesos.org) has live 50 years in captivity, breeding is neither easy nor
guaranteed sighting, visit Ordesa y tour details plus excellent displays quick. Females, fertile from about seven years of age,
Monte Perdido National Park in the on lammergeier ecology. Pura are notoriously picky. Even having paired, the first few
Aragon Pyrenees, home to nearly Aventura (01273 676712; www. breeding attempts usually fail. That was the case here.
90 lammergeiers. pura-aventura.com), Diego Martin’s In 2017, the first lammergeier egg in the Picos for over
company, tailor-makes walking 60 years was laid in the Cares Gorge by seven-year-old
HOW TO GET THERE and self-drive trips in the Picos de Deva. The nest was flooded and failed. Yet it’s a sign
Picos de Europa is quite remote, with Europa. Local operators including that the project is achieving its core philopatric aim of
two main access points from outside Birding Picos de Europa (www. encouraging vultures from elsewhere to remain and
the region: Oviedo (air bus, train) and birdingpicosdeeuropa.com; +34 establish a viable breeding population: Deva’s mate,
Santander (air, bus, train and ferry). 620 239 210) offer guided walks. Casanova, is a wild bird that arrived independently
from the Pyrenees.
It’s a point reiterated by Gerardo Báguera, the project’s
The cloud showed no signs of lifting, though. Still José Above: Picos de director. “We’re not aiming to create a new population
refused to admit defeat, retrieving his radio telemetry Europa National just through releasing birds, but by persuading incomers
Park is popular
kit and a laminated sheet identifying 11 birds and the to stay. We do half of the work – the other half is natural.”
with hikers and
frequencies of their tags. The idea of tagging such a birders, who watch This is a long-term project, he added. “Creating a
huge talon-equipped bird seemed hazardous, verging for lammergeiers, population that can survive without human conservation
on suicidal. But no. “Ringing or tagging griffons – now, honey buzzards, intervention, starting from zero, of a species that first breed
Egyptian vultures,
that’s scary,” José chuckled. “But lammergeiers are quite successfully at nine, 10 years old – probably 30 years is a
golden, Bonelli’s,
docile; once you’ve got one it won’t nip or scratch.” short-toed and realistic timescale to see multiple couples breeding.”
José adjusted the dial and swept his antenna above booted eagles. As with birdwatching, patience is a virtue in
his head, searching in turn for named lammergeier: conservation – and there’s reason to hope that it will be
Atliano, Esperanza, Vitorina. Finally, a series of blips rewarded in the Picos.
raised hopes: Escudero, lurking within 2km of our
position. So close, yet still hidden by the murk. But his + FIND OUT MORE PAUL
story reinforces the FCQ’s faith in their wild egg retrieval O Foundation for the Conservation BLOOMFIELD
process. “Escudero’s parents tried to breed for 23 years, of Lammergeier (in Spanish): is a wildlife
www.quebrantahuesos.org
but nested near a popular climbing spot. Each year they lover, travel writer and
O Vulture Conservation
were disturbed, and each year their nest failed. Escudero, book editor: www.
Foundation: www.4vultures.org
released in 2016, was the first of their chicks to survive.” paul-bloomfield.com
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 77

During his visits to Tibet, Vincent Munier
explored an area near Chang Tang and
Kekexili nature reserves in Qinghai
province. He followed the fresh tracks of
a snow leopard until they disappeared.
After a few hours of searching in a cave
and an alert from a raven, the big cat
emerged. The black streaks on the rock
in this image are melting snow.

PHOTO
STORY



INTO THE






WILDERNESS






Photographer Vincent Munier has visited the
highlands of Tibet five times, staying in a tent at
altitudes between 4,500 and 5,500m. Withstanding
freezing temperatures, he has captured wildlife living
in one of the harshest environments on Earth.

ABOVE Pallas’s cat primarily
hunts pikas (small relatives
of rabbits) in the Kunlun
Mountains. The feline is
considered widespread across
the Tibetan Plateau and has
the longest, densest fur of any
species in the Felis genus.














LEFT Kiangs, or Tibetan wild
asses, are endemic to the
Tibetan Plateau. During the
winter they often form large
herds at lower elevations and
Stipa grasses comprise up to
95 per cent of their diet. When
this photograph was taken the
temperature was –35°C.
80 BBC Wildlife March 2018

PHOTO
In September, during the mating STORY
season, male wild yak are very territorial
and you have to watch out if you’re a
photographer! There are approximately
15,000 individuals throughout the
Tibetan Plateau. The species is
threatened by grazing cattle, forcing
it to move to higher altitudes to feed.















































































March 2018 BBC Wildlife 81

PHOTO
STORY






















































ABOVE A female snow leopard
chases a bharal (Himalayan blue
sheep). Her camouflage enables
her to blend into her habitat but
she must get within 30–40m of
her victim before making the final
rush. This particular hunt failed.

RIGHT From a rocky ledge, a young
male snow leopard watches his
mother attempting to catch a
bharal. In winter, deep snow forces
prey species to move to lower
slopes, and the big cats follow.
















82 BBC Wildlife March 2018

ABOVE RIGHT A juvenile
snow leopard chases
his mother. The playful
youngster will become
independent when it is over
two years of age. Adults are
solitary creatures but their
home ranges do overlap.
RIGHT A female snow
leopard moves towards
Vincent as he lies face down
on the ground. Fortunately
for the photographer, she did
not identify the dark mass.















March 2018 BBC Wildlife 83

PHOTO
STORY



BELOW Tibetan wild asses in Wild Yak
Valley. The species has a large head, broad
hooves and thick muzzle. Its dark chestnut-
brown coat, which is paler in winter, and a
dark brown dorsal stripe extending from
the mane to the tail, can be seen here.




















































TOP Pikas are abundant on the Tibetan
Plateau and provide a vital food source
for many predators in the mountains. The
word ‘pika’ evolved from a term used by
the Tungus of Siberia while attempting to
mimic the call of the northern species.
ABOVE The Tibetan fox is similar in size
to the red fox and can be found between
2,000 and 5,200m above sea level. It
forms lifelong partnerships and shares
the responsibility of raising young.










84 BBC Wildlife March 2018

VINCENT MUNIER is an award-
winning French wildlife and landscape
photographer. He fell in love with
photography at the age of 12 and spent
much of his youth capturing wildlife in the
forests surrounding his home. Find out
more about his images and books
at www.vincentmunier.com









































































March 2018 BBC Wildlife 85

REVIEWS O BOOKS

O TV
O RADIO
O DIGITAL
O MOVIES




Author Miriam Darlington
experienced a very
close encounter with a
short-eared owl while
researching Owl Sense.



















Loic Poidevin/naturepl.com








DISCOVERING THE
REAL OWL STORY


A myth-busting mission to find the truth.
BOOK
Owl Sense OF THE
By Miriam Darlington MONTH
Faber, £15.99 Animal Kingdom A Taste for the Beautiful
By Jack Ashby By Michael J Ryan
J
Just as poet, nature writer and author of The History Press £20 Princeton £22.95
2012’s Otter Country Miriam Darlington
2 Modern museums attract huge They say beauty is in the eye of
began the research for Owl Sense, her son
b numbers of visitors, but in the beholder, yet increasingly – as
B
Benji began to suffer from mysterious amongst the interactive displays we understand it – beauty resides
s
seizures. Woven through this exploration of and games it can be easy to in the mind, according to this
t the eight species of owl found in Europe is miss the actual objects on show. delicious exploration into the
t the story of his illness, and of the benefits Jack Ashby puts 100 exhibits latest evolutionary research.
both mother and son found in contact with owls. centre-stage. Each one – be it Michael Ryan’s central argument
both
an
mother
Darlington brings humour, humility and a refreshing fossilised, pickled, pinned, that pre-existing preferences
subjectivity to her quest to understand these charismatic dissected or stuffed – inspires a within female brains are what
creatures, as well as a sense of the true complexity of short, punchy essay exploring drives the evolution of male
conservation conflicts. Worth the cover price alone is her the evolutionary history of the sexual structures and behaviours
account of a near-miss with a short-eared owl on Dartmoor: animal kingdom. The magic is elegantly crafted, assisted by
“The owl came closer, its haunting yellow eyes upon me works best when the text hundreds of real-life accounts,
until it was so close I could pick out the individual black centres on a particular exhibit including his study animals – the
masking around its eyes. And still it came. And then, it in a particular museum. This tiny túngara frogs of Panama.
stretched out its legs… the deathly-sharp black claws now is a book that deserves its How Darwin would have loved
splayed and reached right out towards my head.” own display case. a book such as this.
Melissa Harrison Author Stuart Blackman Science writer Jules Howard Naturalist
86 BBC Wildlife March 2018

REVIEWS BOOKS





admirably through 30 topics MEET THE AUTHOR
encompassing the what, where
and how of rainforests, plus
their wildlife, human residents Prerna
Young and – importantly – threats. Bindra
readers Subjects are granted a
three-second summary, 30
The conservationist on
seconds of fact-packed text
Rainforests in 30 seconds (which actually takes nearer a the ecocide left in the
By Jen Green minute to read) and a welcome wake of India’s growth.
Ivy Kids £7.99
three-minute ‘mission’ inviting
Aged seven, my inaugural kids to study camouflage or Why did you write habitat has also helped
rainforest experience came survey minibeasts. The Vanishing? other species, such as the
courtesy of Sir David The book isn’t perfect. Odd Because India’s wildlife hardground barasingha.
Attenborough, in Life on Earth. factual glitches include an is more endangered than Crocodile numbers are
My daughter is now the same assertion that sloths favour the ever before. We are at a now healthy and hunting of
age: Sir David similarly rainforest understorey (rather point where regulations migratory Amur falcons has
introduced her to the world’s than the canopy). But such that safeguard wildlife are been reduced to zero.
richest habitats through Planet minor grumbles do not detract being seen as impediments
Earth II. This piqued her from a well-presented product. to growth. Yet nature is How does loss of wildlife
curiosity about Daddy’s years James Lowen Nature writer the bedrock on which impact people?
working in jungles. development rests. Hugely. For example, India
Appetite whetted, lost over 97 per cent of
she can deepen her Why is India’s wildlife
understanding in such peril?
through this The same reasons as it is INDIA’S
charming book. elsewhere: poaching and the ` WILDLIFE
Prolific author Jen loss of habitat. But the key
Green caters for cause is a collapse of political IS MORE
short attention spans will to conserve. ENDANGERED
among readers aged
8–11, cantering Can you notice a change? THAN EVER
The vanishing is all around BEFORE.”
us. The croaking of frogs,
the insects that arrive with
the monsoon, the howling three of its vulture species
of jackals and nights lit by in a few decades, which has
fireflies have all diminished meant the loss of an efficient
in my lifetime. carcass disposal system. As
well as contaminating water
Is the rate of loss worse and soil, animal remains
than other countries? became available to feral
Pine Martens Beetles No. In fact, India is widely dogs, whose increased
By Johnny Birks By Richard Jones regarded as a global leader numbers coincided with a
Whittet £15.99 Collins New Naturalist £35 in conservation, having devastating rabies outbreak
It’s a great time to be a British “There are more types of beetle pioneered initiatives to between 1992–2006.
pine marten-ologist, as these on this planet than any other protect tigers and other rare
sublime mammals enjoy a group of creatures,” says author species. The country is What are the solutions?
sustained recovery in Britain, Richard Jones. Writing a also custodian of species that Making important wildlife
aided by translocation (to Wales) monograph on the topic is a are extinct or in serious habitats and corridors
and the rediscovery of tiny but challenge that the entomologist decline elsewhere, such secure, and better protection.
tenacious populations in has risen to superbly. As well as a as the gharial. Voluntary and fair relocation
northern England. Species global overview, Beetles includes a of communities from core
champions don’t come more handy guide to 102 British beetle What are the wildlife areas is a win-win,
enthusiastic than Johnny Birks, families and a simple key to the success stories? providing undisturbed
who shares wit and wisdom most common, making it appeal India still has some 60 per breeding habitat for animals
accumulated over decades of to both beginners and experts. cent of the world’s wild and better standards of living
study. This is a book for mammal The chapter on the significance tigers. Protecting tiger for people.
enthusiasts of all ages, with of beetles to humans is
neatly curated science, anecdotes, particularly fascinating, featuring
ponderings, cartoons and an scarab beetles in ancient Egypt O THE VANISHING: INDIA’S WILDLIFE CRISIS examines
unapologetic emphasis on poo. and ladybirds in nursery rhymes. the issues of conservation in a rapidly developing
Amy-Jane Beer Nature writer Megan Shersby Editorial assistant country (Penguin India, £19.99) www.penguin.co.in
r
y
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 87

Hugh eyeballs a harvest
mouse. This tiny rodent
is the smallest in Europe
and lives in hedgerow
and grassland habitats.




































TV

CHOICE


Wild stars of the south-west


A detailed look at the species from Dartmoor to Dorset – and the people helping them.


Hugh's Wild West Hugh. “We have dealt many hard blows Wye, reintroducing harvest mice onto a
TV BBC Two to the natural world, yet wildlife can be wildlife-friendly farm, investigating how
Continuing Saturdays, 6.15pm resilient and learn to cohabit with us, which local wildlife survives Glastonbury Festival,
January and February usually see us spend is a gift. If we spend time outside, we can watching bats foraging in Buckfastleigh
Hugh and harvest mouse: James Cox/Keo Films/BBC; Hugh: Joseph Fenton/Keo Films/BBC
a lot of time indoors, staring at darkening find amazing animals doing incredible and exploring the new saltmarsh habitat at
skies and longing for summer. This gentle things in plain view – it’s very nourishing.” WWT Steart Marshes.
new 12-parter for BBC Two, which follows And so off outside he goes, criss-crossing Along the way, Hugh meets a plethora
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on a year-long between four of the south-west’s most of wildlife heroes – both amateur and
quest to seek out the wildlife of the south- cherished wild landscapes: Dartmoor; the professional – and the insight into just how
west, feels like a breath of fresh air during Wye Valley; Dorset’s Jurassic coast; and the much hands-on work they do to protect
these cold, often dismal days. Somerset Levels. While we have already local rarities underpins the series. “As a
The UK may not boast the world’s most seen the presenter encountering the likes documentary film-maker, it’s important for
charismatic megafauna, of dippers, cuttlefish me to tell stories in the right context –
but our native species and glow-worms (catch I didn’t want to present wildlife in a rose-
have a charm of their own. THERE IS the early episodes tinted bubble where there’s no human
And more importantly, ` SO MUCH on BBC iPlayer), intervention,” he says. “People are a very
many of them are perfectly TO BE GAINED Hugh’s encounters significant part of this series. We are telling
accessible. “In the crazy, yet-to-come include, stories both of amazing creatures and of the
bustling world we live in, FROM VISITING in no particular order, people helping them – a lot of conservation
there is so much to be WILD PLACES.” tracking wild boar in work is going on and many challenges need
gained from visiting wild the Forest of Dean, to be faced. It’s a realistic perspective on
or semi-wild places,” says seeking barbels in the British wildlife.” Sarah McPherson
88 BBC Wildlife March 2018

REVIEWS BROADCAST





Q&A WILD and the very

a
Hugh Fearnley- - currents that
r
nley
H
gh
F
e
u
Whittingstall STREAM gather the debris
to concentrate
THE LATEST ON iPLAYER, and guide it to
What was the
NETFLIX AND BEYOND clearing stations.
hardest species
Elephants are You can hear
to film? in peril from
Cuttlefish! Wildlife meets detective story poachers. his ideas with
We fashioned with In Search of the Lost Boyan Slat: How
a modified, Girl (BBC iPlayer, until 27 Feb), We Will Rid the
open-ended trap that I was in which Chris Packham consume destroys rainforests, Oceans of Plastic (The Ocean
convinced would work, but (right) sets off to the Sumatran the plastic that packages it is Cleanup channel, YouTube).
we missed the breeding jungle to track down a young wreaking havoc on marine Finally, if you missed it when
season by a couple of weeks. girl that he photographed back habitats across the globe, with it first aired, make time to
When the breeding season in 1998. It’s no easy task: he devastating consequences see Big Cats (BBC iPlayer,
did start, a storm pulled the has no clues as to her identity; for ocean wildlife. Dutch until 20 Feb) – a three-part
animals offshore. We did hers is a nomadic tribe; and entrepreneur and inventor series showcasing the world’s
get some lovely unexpected in the 20 years since his last Boyan Slat has a solution to felines: some large, some
l
e
ckl
footage of squid though. visit, millions of hectares of how we might tackle sma llll, some rarely
her rainforest home has been the vast mess of pplastic seen at all.
destroyed. As his very personal that has accumulaated
Which ‘hero’ stood out most?
Everyone was fascinating, but search deepens, Chris sees in the Pacific, earnning it
if I had to pick one it would first-hand the extent of the pleasant nicknname of
be Stephanie Tyler. She has deforestation to clear the way ‘Great Pacific Garrbage Patch’.
been studying dippers for 40 for palm oil plantations. His idea is simplee – use
years and is still working out While the palm oil we floating barriers
in the field, clambering up
ladders and through narrow
tunnels to survey nests.
The UN predicts that FLY LIKE
coral reef sites around
What is your must-see? the world will cease to A FALCON
Everyone should experience exist as functioning Beyond Bionic
a starling murmuration. As ecosystems by 2100.
TV CBBC Due to start in mid February.
well as an exciting wildlife
event, it’s something you can Young adventurers (and
share with a crowd, which is scientists) might enjoy this
a heartwarming experience. high-octane 13-parter, which
follows explorer Andy Torbet as
he attempts to match – or even
Which species are needing
surpass – animal abilities using
particularly intensive help?
Chris Packham being gifted a spear by Tumenggung Bebayang: Shinta Oktania/Tigress Productions/BBC;
The lesser horseshoe bat engineering and ingenuity. An
is a good example. Its UK array of hi-tech gadgets are put
Andy Torbet: Tony Lee/BBC; coral reef: Suzanne Long/Alamy; plastic bottle: WaterFrame/Alamy
range has shrunk drastically. to the test, such as an exo-
Conservation involves skeleton to match the strength
maintaining old buildings of a gorilla, jet rockets to keep
and their surrounding habitat DEATH ON THE REEF up with a peregrine falcon and
to meet the bats’ roosting Costing the Earth: Defenders of the Reef diving gear that will enable him
and feeding needs, and even BBC RADIO 4 Two parts, due to air 27 Feb and 6 March to descend to the extreme depths
excavating hibernation caves. of the ocean.
Fronted by marine biologist and wildlife film-maker Ellen
Husain, this two-parter uncovers the implications of the
What did you learn that
tragedy rapidly befalling the Great Barrier Reef, half of
most surprised you?
Probably the fascinating which was lost following bleaching events in 2016 and 2017
balance between native and (including a stretch filmed in all its splendour for Blue Planet
I
I
alien species. For instance, II). As she makes her way down the east coast, Ellen dives with
part of the success of the coral expert Charlie Veron, meets scientists, politicians and
egrets at Ham Wall is down to economists, and opens up the debate around Australia’s plans
the Iberian frog, which settled to open one of the world’s largest coal mines. “The loss of coral
here 50 years ago. reefs is one of the biggest stories on the planet right now,” she
says. “Natural resources underpin everything we do, and coral Andy (and tech)
HUGH is a food writer, chef and reefs are the first ecosystem to face fundamental collapse due take on the
animal kingdom.
presenter of Hugh’s Wild West to climate change. If that isn’t a call to action on CO2, what is?”
March 2018 BBC Wildlife 89

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96 BBC Wildlife March 2018

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March 2018 BBC Wildlife 97

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98 BBC Wildlife March 2018

March issue

on sale
22nd
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Don’t miss the bumper March issue

of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine




BBC2’s Gardeners’ World returns to ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
our screens on 9 March. Get the Houseplants for every room –
your complete style guide
lowdown on the new series in the
Get your lawn summer-ready
March issue – our TV special with
with fi ve key tasks
IMAGES: MARSHA ARNOLD; SCOTT JESSOP (LONGMEADOW PLAN) exclusive cover and pages dedicated Longmeadow garden plan in this issue Attract wildlife to any
to the programme, including
size of garden
interviews with the presenters
Win a Danube river cruise from
and a plan of Longmeadow.
Viking, worth £6,000

Q&
Q Q Q Q A
THE PANEL
THE P ANEL




MATT DOGGETT
Marine biolog gist





SARAH MCPHERSON
Q&A editor
LVE YOUR MYSTERIES. MORE AMAZING
FACTS AT WWW.DISCOVERWILDLIFE.COM


LIZ KALAUGHER Q MARINE BIOLOGY
Author of Furry Logic
uthor
o
L
ogic
urry
f
F
A
What are the differences
STUART BLACKMAN between skates and rays?
Science writer
A Skates and rays are essentially flattened
sharks, inhabiting deep and shallow waters
across the world. As a rule, skates lay eggs
POLLY PULLAR (the famous ‘mermaid’s purses’) while rays
Naturalist and author give birth to live young, but unless you are
lucky enough to witness either event, you will
need to look at anatomy.
The first indicator is the tail. Pelagic
rays often have slender, whip-like tails, and
MIKE TOMS those of some species are adorned with a
rnithologis
Ornithologist t
O
venomous spine. Rays that live on the
seabed may sport shorter, stockier
tails, but in that case the
presence of a spine is generally
the giveaway.
AMY-JANE BEER Skates often have longer,
Naturalist and author Ray: Doug Perrine/NPL; reindeer: Klein & Hubert/NPL; jackal: Dave Watts/NPL; peafowl: Jelger Herder/Buiten-beeld/Minden/FLPA
pointier snouts; more diamond
or kite-shaped bodies; those
stockier tails and no venomous
spine. They usually have a
prominent dorsal fin (which is
MARK LEE
K
e
w
c
r
F
h
a
e
R Research Fellow, Kew smaller or absent in rays) and
e
s
,
w
ello
thorny barbs on their backs that
they use for defence.
Names can sometimes cause
confusion, though. Many skates in the
UK are referred to as rays – including
JAMES FAIR
n
E Environment editoror the thornback and undulate rays.
vir
onment
edit
Matt Doggett
EMAIL YOUR
QUESTIONS TO
[email protected]
or post to Q&A, BBC Wildlife
Magazine, Immediate Media
Company, 2nd Floor, Tower House,
Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BN
100 BBC Wildlife