Tag a Turtle goes live!!

Hi All

Just a quick note to say our Tag a Turtle Website has finally gone live!! It can be viewed at www.tag-a-turtle-.co.uk
And almost as if to commemorate the occasion, my monthly BBC Wildlife magazine popped through the post box today and in it...a seven page spread about 'Arribada,' spanish for 'Arrival from the sea' The arrival being the onslaught of female Olive and Kemp's Ridley Turtles who, driven by an ancient ancestral urge, come ashore the deserted beaches of North West Costa Rica to lay their precious cargo in the sand.
However this is the beginning of a journey that some turtles never even get the chance to make... that is why the Tag a Turtle project to us and to other marine conservationists, biologists, and enthusiasts is so important. To raise awareness for our amazing oceans and all the incredible creatures who roam within them, and how we can make a difference. For all the info, action and events visit the website and for any further info you can contact us at: info@tag-a-turtle.co.uk



Have a great week, see you all after my mushing ventures in finland...
Regards
Nic :)

Next venture: Mushing in Finland

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately time has run away with me for when I last checked, it was the first of february, 2011 and I haven't written a single blog since last year!! So hurtling forward in true Nic spirit I've decided to skip what's happened in between then and now and to blog about my next adventure which involves snow and dogs!! As I'm turning the milestone age of .... 21 again this year, I've decided to go to Finland dogsledding with huskies! For those of you who know me I've had a life long infatuation with huskies and the lands where they originate and it's been a dream for sometime, so I'm well and truely excited to finaly have the opportunity to be able to do it.

The January issue of BBC Wildlife magazine did a fantastic write up on 'why dogs rule the world' and how their social and loyal traits which endear them to us have underpinned their extraordinary success in their wild counterparts, the wild members of the Canidae family, wolves and foxes. It's well worth a read or subscription if you're stuck for presents. It feels like xmas every month when I receive my mag through the post :)

For those of you living in the UK or with Sky channels, the BBC have been doing a fantastic series called Human Planet which is an awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, heart-stopping series that marvels at mankind's incredible relationship with nature in some of the most arduous places on the planet today. The series explores the remarkable stories of people who make their homes in places on the planet most of us would think of as uninhabitatable. The arctic episode shows a family set out across the sea ice with their beloved dogs in the springtime to catch a Greenland shark and shows how the Inuit mussel-gatherers venture underneath the sea ice at low tide, risking their lives in a perilous race against time as they gather vital food stores to last them the winter months. The relationship between these ancient hunter-gatherer people and their dogs is moving. Their dogs are their livelihood as well as their best friends and only companions on what can sometimes turn out to be never ending journey's in the search for food. So if like me you're all inspired to go and visit somewhere even colder than England but to have an experience of a lifetime here are a few suggestions:

Five great places to go dog sledding

1. The North Pole- Obviously this type of adventure is best not done in flip-flops and your old backpack from Mallets. For those tough nuts amongst you this is the mother of all dog sledding trips, but you’ll need some help. There are several companies who will help you ski or dogsled to the North Pole, providing all the kit and support, but obviously its not cheap.
2. Greenland- Ever fancied hurtling through the frozen tundra with only the sound of your dogs, the snow beneath the sled and wind to distract you from the breathtaking beauty of the arctic? Inuit hunters will take you and your dog team out over the ice flows, show you the ropes and teach you how to build true igloos.
3. Finland. Imagine sliding through the dark forests of the Finnish north, visiting the Sami people with their massive herds of reindeer, then each evening, after a sauna, curling up in the warmth and bliss of a wood cabin beneath the Northern Lights.
4. Canada. A little more sedate, Canada offers the same rush but with all the luxuries and ease of a North American holiday. Don’t forget to try the Mongoose jerky when you tire of the maple syrup and pancakes.
5. Kent. What?! Yes for those of you who aren’t fans of the cold, travelling too far or foreign foods you can now learn to dog sled in the England’s Apple Orchard.



Until next time, I promise not to leave it as long...
Nic x

We have a new baby!Celebrate the birth at Yaki monkey weekend... on Twitpic

We have a new baby!Celebrate the birth at Yaki monkey weekend... on Twitpic

Land Rover’s commitment to a sustainable future

As we make our way to the end of 2010 and plough our way into the new year we are all faced with daily headlines in the press reminding us of the recession, government cuts, global warming, sustainable living, our ecological footprint, thinking about how we shop, what we buy, organic or free range? Tested on animals? Farmed or fresh? Sustainably fished or hunted to extinction? Thinking about your next move, even if it is just to buy some milk from the corner shop, we are all faced with a number of choices daily which will affect not only our future but the future of our children and future generations. What does the future hold? And can we really influence the bigger picture? And does it really matter? A review article in NewScientist October 09 edition based on the book by Robert and Brenda Vale, two architects who specialise in sustainable living at University of Wellington, New Zealand compared the ecological pawprint of everyday family pets with SUV’s otherwise known as 4x4’s or ‘Sports Utility Vehicles’. The findings were astonishing!
They concluded that a Landcruiser’s eco-footprint is less than half that of a medium sized dog! John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, UK said “Owning a dog really is quite an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat”.

So what is it to be eco-friendly? And how do we achieve it when even our furry friends are no longer seen as being part of a sustainable future?
Well in my opinion we all hold a piece of the future in our hands, every single one of us, so every decision we make on a daily basis will in turn in one way or another affect another human/non human being sometime in the future. Therefore we can all make a difference, even if it’s in a miniscule contribution, a hundred thousand miniscule contributions soon add up! Therefore if you already own a pet, then changing its diet can help. Replacing meat with a more sustainable, less energy intensive replacement can almost halve the eco-pawprint of a dog or reducing the amount of birds a cat kills per year can drastically reduce their huge claw-print. And as for SUV drivers well you’ll be very happy to know that Land Rover have made a promise to a more sustainable future by actively supporting Conservation programs such as the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) which runs the world’s largest primate rescue project. As part of their sponsorship they have donated a Defender to the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project in Central Kalimantan. The vehicle is currently being used in the most remote areas of Borneo for the transportation and return of Orangutan's to safe forests.
So its not all doom and gloom, there is always a greener alternative if we really want to make a greener choice, which made me think twice this week when I decided that the house was far too quiet and I wanted a pet…..
So I’ve decided on 3 bantam hens! At least they compensate for their eco-featherprint by providing eggs although I’m not sure I’m ready to go all the way and be completely eco-friendly by eating them, they’re never going to provide as much entertainment and pleasure on the dinner plate as seeing them pottering around the garden chattering away to each other.

Have a great week.
Nic

Top Ten Wildlife Spots

Emmy Award-winning director and producer of wildlife documentaries, Nick Stringer, walks us through his favourite places in the world to see nature at its finest, in this weeks guardian. Check out his list of top wildlife spots at http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/nov/03/top-10-wildlife-destinations Which made me think about my top ten favourite travel spots so far which I thought I would share on my blog. Although I have many more places on my wish list yet to see and adventure, my favourites so far have to be.....

1. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for Gorilla treks and Ngamba Chimp Island, Lake Victoria for Chimpanzees



2. Phi Phi and Kho Lanta Island's, Thailand for diving


3. White Water Rafting the White Nile River in Uganda


4. Tunisia for Swimming with Wild Dolphins


5. Pilansberg National Park South Africa for Elephants and Big Cats


6. Phuza Moya Game Reserve South Africa for Dwarf Mongoose and Hippos


7. Dartmoor National Park, England for salmon leaping, wild swimming and yurting


8. County Clare, Ireland for Birds of Prey and good guiness


9. Lake Nakuru in Kenya for Bird watching, especially Flamingos and Colobus Monkeys


10.Cornwall, UK for snorkelling, seals and basking sharks


Send your comments/favourite travel wildlife spots to me at ukulalana@gmail.com or nicolefentonhowarth on facebook.

Also if you would like to see some amazing travel pics and read up on Japan, check out Matts homepage and blog at matthewbutton.co.uk

Until next time.........Hamba Kahle (Go well)
Nic x

As a new species is discovered another is going extinct……..

2010 is proving to be an exciting year indeed! There has never been a better time to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity with a new species of primate being discovered! Fauna & Flora International was part of a team of primatologists that recently discovered a completely new species of monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri in Northern Myanmar (formerly Burma). Local hunters reported the presence of a monkey which did not match any description of species previously identified in the area. Sadly this latest addition to the snub-nosed family is already threatened. Hunting pressure is rising thanks to loggers moving into the previously isolated distribution area of this species. Based on direct observations and evidence from local people, the team of researchers have estimated the total population of R.strykeri to be 260-330 individuals, making them a threatened species when they’ve only just been discovered. All species of snub-nosed monkey are considered critically endangered, including the striking blue-faced R.roxellana or golden snub-nosed monkey. With the new snub-nosed monkey Myanmar has now 15 species of primates, which underlines the importance of Myanmar for biodiversity conservation.

Photo credit: A digital reconstruction of the Burmese Snub-nosed monkey by Dr Thomas Geissmann

Hunting and habitat destruction are the key threats facing all primate species including the great apes. Just over 700 mountain gorillas remain in the world today. Two isolated populations survive, one in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, south-western Uganda, and the other on the forested slopes of the Virunga volcanoes, straddling the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda. The forest has been recognised as one of the most biologically diverse areas on earth by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site.




In 2003 I visited the magnificent Bwindi Impenetrable Forrest, home to half the world’s population of critically endangered Mountain Gorillas Gorilla beringei beringei. It was an unbelievable experience, one which I will never forget. We trekked for over two hours through the humidity of the forest and up steep inclines until one of the conservation guards held up his hand and told us to be very quiet as he had detected fresh signs of gorilla activity. Within minutes we were surrounded by them. There were mothers and babies all around us, feeding, playing and before we knew it the silver back roared past us in an attempt to show us who’s territory we were on, before sitting down and beating his chest wildly with satisfaction.


My heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to faint. We could only spend an hour with them and then we had to leave to prevent any cross contamination of disease, so I snapped as many quick photographs as I could get whilst hanging onto a branch to stop myself slipping down the ravine, hence the blurred photos, and then spent the rest of the time just watching them and being among them for I knew there and then that I may never get the opportunity again to walk and be amongst wild free Gorilla’s.


The only reason there still are this tiny number of wild Gorilla’s still living and roaming the forests free today is down to the countless hours of dedication and commitment of the national park staff who patrol these forests on a daily basis to protect the Gorilla’s from hunters and poaching. But these conservation efforts have cost many lives, both human and Gorilla, for life is cheap in Africa and a Gorilla to a man and his starving family is just another meal to survive yet another tough day in Africa.

Lets hope the next generation of conservationists and their efforts can help build a stronger future for all the amazing species which share our beautiful planet with us.








Comments are welcome and can be sent to ukulalana@gmail.com if you are not a google mail user. Have a brilliant week.
Regards
Nic x

Where the wild things are...

I have lived my entire life in Africa, running around barefoot, with acacia trees which grow thorns the size of toothpicks everywhere and managed to get away relatively unscathed, and yet you couldn’t find anyone on the planet less adapted to survive in the lush green English countryside. For, lurking underneath all that lush green grass, pretty blue bells and fields of daisies are the most dangerous and spiteful plants I have ever encountered! The dreaded STINGING NETTLE. Last night while frolicking in a field with the Kuni kuni piglets that I am currently babysitting, as the sun set over the rolling English countryside, I managed to find the only patch of nettles in the entire field and sit on them! I nearly gave the poor pigs heart failure as I ran around like a chicken on fire trying to work out what had attacked me so viciously, only to discover it was a clump of dammed leaves.


Anyway, enough about my inability to survive life on this small island with its peculiar range of deadly South African eating plants, I want to blog about the next chapter, in what is turning out to be quite an unfolding adventure, that is my little existence in Cornwall.


I’m graduating on the 6th of November, so armed with my BSc honours degree and truck loads of enthusiasm I’ve been filling every spare minute of my time volunteering for various conservation organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and of course running the tag a turtle project with Blue Reef and the Marine Conservation Society, in the hope that not only will I gain some invaluable experience but that somewhere along the line I will hopefully build a career. So it was to my complete surprise when the Director of Newquay Zoo contacted me last week and offered me the opportunity to join their team as a Primate Keeper! This will give me the wonderful chance of working with these fascinating animals (lemurs, marmosets, monkeys and apes to name a few) up close and enabling me to observe and record behaviours which will contribute to their conservation in the wild.

Newquay Zoo is part of the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT). The WWCT operates and supports over 20 UK and overseas conservation projects. Newquay Zoo recently signed up to the World Land Trust's Wild Spaces project with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA). This aims to raise £260,000 to purchase a critically threatened 3,675 acre (1,500 ha) parcel of strategically placed land in the Brazilian Atlantic forests, home to over 930 bird species and 260 mammal species.
The World Land Trust takes direct action to save tropical and other wilderness land. They buy it, acre by acre and are currently working to create new reserves to save threatened habitats in Brazil, Ecuador and India. To find out more please visit their website.
Another great project at the moment worth mentioning is the The Tiger Corridor Initiative promoted by the conservation organization Panthera. It hopes to secure a major wildlife conservation corridor which could extend along the foothills of the Himalayas from Nepal into Bhutan and northern India, then through to Myanmar, stretching across 2000km with an area of 120,000 sq km. The ambition would then be to connect it to another corridor spanning Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, terminating in Malaysia.



The amazing images in this blog were taken by Matt Button on our recent trip to Newquay’s sister Zoo Paignton in Devon (where we will be visiting again next week for a week of hiking on Dartmoor) and are all of critically endangered species which need protection if we are to conserve them for future generations.

Look out for my next blog on my visit to the wild Gorrilla’s in Bwindi Impenetrable
Forrest in Uganda…

Have a great week
Nic x