That’s right, the spring and summer butterflies brightening up the days! Now, there is always a lot of doom and gloom about species being in decline….but sadly it’s true, and we have to face facts to fix it. Luckily our bright little butterflies have a helping hand in the UK with Butterfly Conservation; a charity presided over by the great man himself, Sir David Attenborough.

Butterfly Conservation has saved our lovely ‘Large Blue’ after it was made extinct in 1979 – it has been successfully re-introduced and numbers are growing – hurrah!

But why bother I hear you ask – everybody loves the big mammals its true, and yes, everything possible should be done to conserve say the Snow Leopard and the Orangutan…but let us not forget the tiny beings amongst us who are actually an indicator of ecosystem health. To put it plainly, declining butterfly numbers indicates the health of the environment we’re living in is also declining: action needs to be taken to bring it back into shape ready for our children and grandchildren to head out into it.

‘Peacock’ – Jim Asher, Butterfly Conservation

But what of the moths? These little beasties come out at night and are generally less pretty and less cared about by people, even though they can be MORE important than butterflies by providing a food source for birds, other wildlife, and as pollinators. So moths certainly need a helping hand as well…

Step forward eco-warrior Izzy at Sky2Sea International! As an Environmental Biologist she gets to help her eco-buddies save the planet when she gets some time away from helping plan exciting expeditions for you! Izzy spent a few days with Butterfly Conservation in Dorset, helping survey ‘Dingy Mocha’ larvae (that’s a very rare UK moth species by the way, and UKBAP Priority species) and survey areas of land ready for conservation.

‘Dingy Mocha’ – Butterfly Conservation

“Dingy Mocha larvae live in sallow trees, so to find them we needed a big sheet underneath a suitable tree, then by beating the tree (causing no damage!) we could catch all the caterpillars and see if we’d managed to get some ‘Dingy Mochas’. We didn’t find any on the sites we searched in, but might have better luck next time. During the separate habitat classification survey, patches of land already recognised as significant for the wildlife there had species of plants and trees recorded. This will lead to increased protection for these important sites.” Izzy Jones

‘Holly Blue’ – Jim Asher, Butterfly Conservation

This work is so vital, we have already lost 5 of the 60 resident species in the UK and two thirds are in decline. In a world dominated by commerce and consumerism it is often difficult to see the significance of such small members of our ecosystem that we all have to share – however, surely looking at the bigger picture it is important to send our children and future generations off into a world still possessing summer days with butterflies fluttering…but please don’t forget the moths as they’re very cool and important too!

Butterfly Conservation really really relies on volunteers to help out – Izzy will continue to help when she can, but they could do with a lot more people taking an active role, even if it’s only a small one…as Tesco says “every little helps!”

For more information and ideas about how YOU can get involved…check out the Butterfly Conservation’s website www.butterfly-conservation.org and you can download more info on ‘Dingy Mochas’ here! (http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/uploads/dingy_mocha.pdf)

‘Large White’ – Jim Asher, Butterfly Conservation

When a branch snaps off a tree, it might be dead or it might be the weight of all the air plants (epiphytes) growing on it, it isn’t always a certain fact that it will fall to the ground. If, after a violent storm, the top of a tree is damaged then the same again is true, sometimes it doesn’t immediately come crashing down to the forest floor.

The canopy of a rainforest is an amazing criss-cross of vines, lianas, roots from plants growing down to the floor and branches of other trees interlocking with one another. So it isn’t a surprise when branches or entire trees are held aloft by this mixture of vegetation.

The problem is that eventually something will give and a lot of debris can rain down on you from a great height. This can happen at any time but is more likely during the strong winds during a tropical downpour.

If you are having a guided tour or a stroll down a track and the wind picks up and the trees start rustling, then that is a good time to keep your eyes skyward (obviously not neglecting the dangers that are lying on the ground as well). If you are setting up camp in the jungle then it is something that you should have checked before setting up for the night. In a base camp scenario I would strongly recommend walking around the perimeter of the camp looking up and into the jungle for any trees that are dead and could reach your camp if they fell.

Top tip 1. When tying up a hammock make sure the tree you tie to is actually alive. Believe me I’ve seen this with my own eyes. A collapsed tree, a crushed hammock and mosquito net, and an expedition member nearby sleeping on the floor.

Top tip 2. Monkeys are cool to look at and very comical to watch as they sound there alarm calls at the large animals on the floor (you!), but all that jumping up and down, howling and making a commotion also shakes debris loose. I’ve had members of my own group hit due to alarmed howler monkeys.

]]> http://sky2seainternational.com/blog/mother-nature/the-danger-above/feed 0 http://sky2seainternational.com/blog/mother-nature/relocation-sometimes-it%e2%80%99s-necessary http://sky2seainternational.com/blog/mother-nature/relocation-sometimes-it%e2%80%99s-necessary#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:53:41 +0000 The Team http://sky2seainternational.com/blog/?p=787

During my time in Zambia, Africa, I had the fortune to work on a crocodile farm. This farm wasn’t the usual ‘for skins and meat’ kind of farm, it was a place where crocodiles that were giving the locals ‘trouble’ were released after capture – by ‘trouble’ I mean eating their livestock or the locals themselves.

The nile crocodile, along with his close relative the salt water crocodile, are two of the most dangerous species of crocodilians. They, if large enough, will not hesitate at making a person part of their diet. Combine this with the fact that in the area why I worked the locals were extremely poor and had to catch fish to feed themselves and you have a unpleasant clash of species.

One species – the crocodile – is a superb stealthy hunter, that can lie in wait for days on end, waiting to spring a deadly ambush. The other species – us – has the ability to use whatever means at his disposal to rid himself of a problem crocodile, and in poor countries this is usually a bullet!

The capture of a crocodile can take place at night, out on the river using search lights to see theirs eyes glowing, or, by using large strong traps baited with rotten meat. Both methods are time consuming, expensive and dangerous. On the river the boat needs fuel, the men need wages, an entire night can go by without a sighting. Then when the croc is harpooned or lassoed there is a massive fight between man and beast, hopefully ending up with both parties uninjured. The laying of a trap big enough to capture a large croc takes manpower, a vehicle with trailer and fuel.

Add up all the costs of capturing a rogue crocodile and then compare that to the price of a bullet and you’ll see which option becomes the prefered one to the local wildlife officials.

So… you have the croc captured and tied up… well done. Then comes the release. Another highly unpredictable situation. Some crocs bolt straight into the water of the enclosure, some just sit there stunned. Everyone of them reacts differently to being untied.  The same goes for opening the door of the trap.  Some crocs just sit there and need to be left over night to make their own way out, or, on opening of the door there is much commotion and general panic as the croc bolts for the water of the enclosure.

There you have a brief look at the relocation of one of hundreds of species of animals that cause mankind harm everyday. Is it worth it? Would shooting them make the situation better? I’m afraid I’m asking questions I can’t answer! I personally wouldn’t want to be a part of the killing of these animals. Maybe teaching the locals how to avoid being eaten would help! I do feel better however knowing that during my time in Zambia we caught approx 50 crocodiles and hopefully made a little bit of a difference.

We are all familiar with the spectacle of lions on the prowl somewhere on the great plains of Africa.  Maybe on the same wildlife television series we have seen other pack animals hunting together, chasing their prey, tiring them out and then going in for the kill.

In the jungles of the Americas and in Africa there is a act of predation that leaves the lions, hyenas, wolves etc, behind in the dust.  It is an act so violent and unstoppable that we must be grateful for the ability to move out of it’s way.

On one side of the ocean they are called Army ants and on the other Driver (or Safari) ants but their behaviour is similar enough to be in this same article together.

When the ants are on the hunt there is nothing that can stop them and what ever can’t escape them is killed and devoured.  Should the swarm or column reach an area of civilization, such as a farm in the jungle, and livestock are unfortunate enough to be in the way of the ants then they will be killed.  Dogs that are tied up will be killed.  Luckily the locals know how to deal with them….. they just move out of the way.  The ants will go through a hut if it is in their way and remove every insect there is hiding in the cracks, also rats and other vermin are flushed out.  When the swarm has moved on then the owners move back in to a nicely cleaned home.

The reason for the massive movement of the entire colony of ants is the fact that they are such efficient predators that they clean out the area around where they live and need to move on to ‘greener pastures’.

Whilst working in Africa helping to set up a reptile park we had the misfortune of having a Driver ant column go through one of our display cases.  Despite there being some of the most dangerous snakes in the world in those cases there was only some skin and bones left the following morning.

Slash and burn is a name for a type of forestry clearance used commonly in the jungle.

The jungle looks to the ordinary person like a rich fertile environment, ideal for a spot of agriculture. But the problem is that all the nutrients and goodness is in what you can see, not under your feet.

A leaf drops from a tree, it decomposes at a rapid rate and then the nutrients are sucked back up into the forest by all the competing species of plants and trees. The soil, to put it simply, is just a place for all this to happen.

When the forest is cut down the trees and vegetation are burnt and the ashes then fertilize the soil. The locals plant crops and what goodness there is in the soil is quickly sucked out. Then, when the soils is useless, more jungle is cleared.

The rainforest, if left undisturbed, can slowly creep forward into the open areas. Turning barren areas back into good quality jungle, but it has to be left alone and an element of luck is need. Whilst the forest had been stripped of it’s vegetation and the trees killed, all the root systems that were helping to hold the soil together have also perished. This now makes the area more prone to soil erosion.

Remembering the knock on effect of messing with such a complex ecosystem, the soil erosion now chokes the rivers, causes landslides and flash floods (the rainforest acted as a natural flood gate by releasing water gradually).

During my time in the Amazon I saw successful farmers using their environment carefully. They had small areas cleared for crops and animals. These areas were then allowed to re-grow after some time whilst the farmer used a different area. Maybe not in his life time, but in his son’s, the rotation would eventually come round to the first clearing I saw and by then the forest will have recovered to an acceptable level.

We, as a species, have been around a fraction of the time compared to the timespan of all the animals. Yet we have managed to spread our living environment over such a vast area, in such a short space of time, that it is not surprising there are encounters such as the one mentioned above. It is very unfortunate though that it is the animals in 99.99999% of the situations that will be relocated or killed.

Killed? That’s right. Do you think that a small African village has the financial or logistical resources to deal with a lion attack or an elephant constantly raiding crops? Even in America, home to many animal/human problems many animals are killed. Compare the cost of one bullet to that of all the manpower, time and equipment to move large animals such as bears, crocodiles, elephants, etc.

Even an extremely wealthy country with many a good intention and excellent resources at hand can not simply keep relocating problem animals. The problem with that again goes back to the original problem of our widespread living environment. Just exactly where do you put these problem animals where they wont come into contact with humans?

If somebody want to make a nice log cabin in a mountain range somewhere or build a beautiful open plan house on the banks of a mighty African river that’s fine. But these people have to take the rough with the smooth. If they put themselves on the bank of a river in Africa, so they can watch animals drinking whilst the sunsets, or, they like to marvel at the coming and going of the seasons high in the mountains. Then these people have to realise that they are not at the top of the food chain any more and so do their friends, relatives and the rest of the world. When a bear eats the couple in the mountain or a crocodile devours someone from the African house spare a thought for the animals and put the rifles away.

Kick over a rotting branch, look in areas of shade, go down to the waters edge… even during the worst time to see things you’ll be surprised as to what is available to photograph, document or ponder over.

If on a walk you aren’t being given a visual treat by the larger animal species dwelling in the greenery take a look at the greenery itself. Look at leaf shapes, bark textures, plant defenses or the shear size of the huge emergent trees. On the floor are root structures, seed pods and footprints of larger animals. There are smells, the dense foliage doesn’t allow much communication by sight and the use of your nose might pick up the smell of the jungle cats, pigs,the remains of something that has passed away, a tree in fruit (good for finding other animals) or, as I love to do, is to breath in the smell of the moist dense vegetation. There are the noises of animals or birds far above you in the canopy or, again, wildlife using sound as a means of communication, marking territories, warning of enemies or attracting mates. Even the heat and humidity making your clothes saturated can bring out wildlife as butterflies in search of valuable salts and minerals land on your skin to drink.

Life has become so finely tuned to its surroundings that by inadvertently over-harvesting a fruit, killing too many mammals or the use of dangerous pesticides can cause horrible knock on affects.

The Brazil nut. We all know it and it is a sustainable product of the rainforest (the forest stays intact whilst the harvest is collected). For the trees to pollinate it relies on certain large bee species. If you poison the bees there wont be any cross pollination. Or, if you kill too many tree snakes or other bird predators, then the birds over-populate and then they eat too many bees, so the affect is the same.

On the forest floor is a humble little rodent called an Agouti (genus Dasyprocta) which, like a squirrel, hoards nuts. The agouti is one of the only animals to be able to break into the tough exterior shell of the Brazil nut to get at the little ones inside. Then it makes little holes in the ground and buries some in each hole. It then forgets where some holes are and there we have the next generation of trees planted. It is obvious what happens if you over-hunt these creatures or affect the natural order of things.

The above is just one of millions of examples happening in the tropical regions of the world today.

The jaguar is the largest cat in the neo tropics (the tropics of Central and South America), followed by the puma (felis concolor) and the ocelot (leopardus pardalis). The tiger is the largest of all felines and it shares it’s territory, Asia, with the leopard (panthera pardus) and the clouded leopard (neofelis nebulosa).

The jungle is the perfect environment for these huge carnivores. Cats, as a generalization, are ambush predators and the jungle provides an excellent environment for that skill. As well as the dense vegetation they chose to hunt in both cats have beautiful markings on their coats which is a fantastic camoflage. Powerful jaws, sharp claws and lightning reflexes all help as well to make the jaguar and the tiger top of the food chain.

So you want to see one of these beautiful creatures. Well, the jaguar is an extremely shy and elusive cat and the tiger is not an animal you just take a stroll out to see.

The chance of coming across a sighting of a jaguar on a guided tour are slim – in fact I still haven’t seen one and that’s after many years in the neo tropics. The chance of seeing a tiger are much better though. On a proper ‘elephant back’ guided tour in some of the reserves in India sightings are common.

During my times strolling down jungle tracks in Peru and Belize I have seen many footprints and the remains of many jaguar ‘meals’. I still dream of walking round a bend in a track to see a ghostly yellow and black shape move off into the greenery.