Month: December 2014

This video, in Spanish is about the Sierra Gorda nature reserve in Mexico.

From the World Land Trust:

Monarch Butterflies appear in large numbers in Sierra Gorda

27 November, 2014 – 12:51

Although three weeks late, Monarch Butterflies have started to appear all over Sierra Gorda, stopping off on their long migration to the fir forests further south.

Roberto Pedraza, Technical Officer of Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda, World Land Trust’s (WLT) conservation partner in Mexico took this photograph on 22 November 2014.

He told us: “As you know, Monarch Butterflies are extremely endangered thanks to logging, government ‘protected areas’ that aren’t protected, and industrialised agriculture in the US and Canada.”

Roberto found the big group of the butterflies in the highlands of Sierra Gorda. There were so many of them that the branches of the cedar were bowing under the weight.

He noticed that they had returned…

This video is about hawksbill turtles.

From the Wildlife Conservation Society:

Major comeback for sea turtles: Highest reported nest counts in Nicaragua

December 11, 2014

Summary: Scientists noticed a dramatic increase in nesting of critically endangeredhawksbill sea turtles including the highest nest counts since a conservation project began there in 2000.

A WCS team in Nicaragua reported today a dramatic increase in nesting of critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles including the highest nest counts since a conservation project began there in 2000.

The total nest count for hawksbill turtles in the project area in Nicaragua’s Pearl Cays region has increased some 200 percent from 154 in 2000 to 468 in 2014.

Of the areas monitored, poaching rates have decreased by more than 80 percent. Poaching in 2014 was one of the lowest in project history at approximately five percent. Nest success has averaged approximately 75 percent this…

This video is about mandarin ducks in nature reserve Boswachterij Dorst in the Netherlands.

Christ Grootzwagers made the video.

Related articles

• Wildcats born in the Netherlands, after centuries of extinction

In central Africa, one of the world’s richest biological hotspots, an international group of scientists is working to preserve biodiversity as the climate warms.

Source: m.livescience.com

GR:  Africa’s growing human population makes preservation of diversity a daunting problem even without global warming.

Joshua Tree NP, California

Southern California is a lot of desert and a lot of people, but fortunately the two co-exist.  This is due in part to an early environmental activist, Minerva Hoyt, who recognized in the early 1900s that increased auto traffic was destroying the California desert.  To read more about her efforts, click here.

This is why, when I visit in the 21st century, I can look out over an expanse of odd-looking trees and cacti, miles of desert and six mountain ranges, and see nothing but wilderness.

Joshua Tree National Park is a combination of the Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert, and can be found in southeastern California.  This park, at an elevation of 4,000 feet, covers nearly 800,000 acres.  It is dominated by its namesake plant:  Joshua Trees.  In the agave family, Yucca brevifolia are endemic to southwestern United States.  For more Park info, click on

Via LaughingSquid, a collection of gorgeous images of the northern red fox.

Ivan Kislov is a Russian photographer who captured the red fox in the remote Chukotka Peninsula in the northeastern area of Russia.

 “Foxes are curious and can come very close, and I shoot with wide angle and telephoto lenses.”

This video is called How Kids Save Swifts. It says about itself:

2 December 2014

A short video presenting a valuable initiative of a workshop for school kids in Gdynia (Poland) on building homes for Swifts.

From BirdLife:

Spring Alive springs to action for migratory bird conservation

By Shaun Hurrell, Fri, 05/12/2014 – 08:22

As migratory birds are settling in for winter in Africa, we reflect back on another successful season of Spring Alive. As well as celebrating the arrival of migratory birds, this year children and adults have been acting for their conservation all the way from Eurasia to Africa in this BirdLife educational conservation initiative coordinated by OTOP (BirdLife in Poland).

This year in Europe and Asia, nearly 67,000 children enjoyed welcoming their avian visitors, learned about their conservation, and took photos as they engaged in Spring Alive migration-themed activities. Over 500 events were held; over…

(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected BP’s challenge to its multibillion-dollar settlement agreement over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which the oil giant complained has allowed payouts to some businesses that are unable to trace their losses to the disaster.

The court’s decision not to hear the London-based company’s appeal is the latest setback for BP, which is trying to limit payments over a disaster that killed 11 people and triggered the largest U.S. offshore oil spill.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/08/us-usa-court-bp-idUSKBN0JM1KR20141208