Month: July 2015

SuperPope Francis graffiti in Rome / NPR

Last month, Pope Francis released Care for Our Common Home, a powerful encyclical, designed to build the moral case for improving the environment and fighting climate change. He calls the climate a “common good” and decries the “abuse of the goods” the environment provides all of humanity. The Vatican published the encyclical in advance of Pope Francis’ tour of South America, his September tour of the U.S., and the critical UN climate change summit in Paris in December. At each stop in his South American tour, which just concluded, he made the case for environmentally and socially-responsible development, arguing that it’s the only way to save both the environment and help the poor. For example, in Ecuador, he said: “The goods of the Earth are meant for everyone, and however much someone may parade his property, it has a social mortgage.” Pope…

November 2011: Scientists enlist the public’s help in identifying pilot and killer whale songs: here. See their site here.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV:

Off the coast of Stellendam [a Dutch lifeboat] has succeeded in pushing a stranded sperm whale back into the sea. The animal of more than 12 meters long was swimming towards the shore this morning, and had beached on a sandbank.

See also here.

Related articles

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• Reproductive success in whale species due to sonar interference
• Deep sea sperm whale, video
• Rare sperm whale fossils discovered in Panama
• Munching on marine plastic kills sperm whale
• Pygmy sperm whale rescued in Wales
• Young sperm whale born, video
• Cetacean Sensation: Sperm Whales & Dolphins on Abaco
• Close Encounter with Majestic Sperm Whale Should Inspire Action
• Why do so many whales die on British beaches? Bad…

This 2006 video says about itself:

Native pine martens seen in the forest near to Aspenwood Holiday Cottage overlooking Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland.

From daily The Independent in Britain:

Pine marten seen in England for the first time in a hundred years

Photographic proof that there was a pine marten in the woods of south-west Shropshire sparked a wave of excitement among local conservationists

Ian Johnston

Wednesday 15 July 2015

A dark shape moved rapidly through the woods and moments later, with a flash of its bushy tail, disappeared into the undergrowth.

Keen nature-watcher Dave Pearce’s first instinct was to reach for his camera – and in doing so he took the photograph of a lifetime, capturing what is believed by some to be the first confirmed sighting of a wild English pine marten in a century.

A carnivore that is about the size of a…

This video says about itself:

Camera trap compilation from Three Giants Station, Paraguay

26 July 2012

This compilation of camera trap video clips was put together by José Luis Cartes (Pepe) — Director of Programmes at Guyra Paraguay, one of WLT’s partners. The camera traps are set along the paths around their Three Giants Biological Station in the Paraguayan Chaco-Pantanal and were taken in May and June 2012. The station is named after the ‘The 3 Giants’: Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) and Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus) that can be found in the area.

Translation: “Puma and baby, ocelot then jaguar, puma again, another puma and baby –the same ones?, ocelot watching, the king of the forest, the jaguar.”

From BirdLife:

Paraguayan forest finally gets protection

By Martin Fowlie, Fri, 10/07/2015 – 14:32

Twenty-three years after its…

Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower peaks the mornings of August 11 to 13.

EarthSky reports

Late July 2015 presents the nominal peak of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower – though under the glaring night of the almost-full waxing gibbous moon. The best viewing hours are after midnight and before dawn, centered around 2 a.m. (3 a.m. daylight-saving time) for all time zones around the world. This long and rambling shower is officially active from about July 12 to August 23 each year, so you may be better off to wait for a couple weeks – or when the moonlight is much less obtrusive. This shower overlaps with the more famous Perseid meteor shower in August. Those who observe the Perseids are likely to see some Delta Aquarid meteors flying on the same nights.

For more information go to Everything you need to know: Delta Aquarid meteor shower | Astronomy Essentials |…

Former Beatle Sir Paul says government will lose support if foxhunting is reintroduced

By Val Woan July 10, 2015 Paul McCartney at the ECHO arena in May

Sir Paul McCartney has warned the Government it will lose the support of the people of Britain if fox hunting is reintroduced.

His comments come after ministers put forward changes to the Hunting Act to bring England and Wales in to line with Scotland on using dogs to flush out foxes to be shot.
Traditional fox hunting with dogs is illegal across Britain, but in England and Wales, only two dogs can be used to flush out a fox so that a farmer or landowner can shoot it, while in Scotland an unlimited number of dogs can be used.
The bid to change the law in England and Wales, which will be voted on next week, has prompted accusations that the Government is…

The other day we were at a home of a possible client, and she had planted an evergreen which she like the look and size and was wondering if we could keep that way. I had to explain something I had done many times before when I worked at a nursery. Woody plants whether trees or shrubs need to grow to survive and you can control some of its’ growth thru pruning, but you can never keep it one size, never to grow. All woody plants grow, if they’re not it usually means they are in a state of decline.

So I went on to explain to her about growth cycles and why we hand prune. I thought about it and figured I post some my thoughts here, for it is a big part of my life and why not share some of my experiences about it.

Most plants we…

Klipspringer, Botswana, Africa

Of over 90 species of antelopes in our world, there is only one that lives on rocks and cliffs:  the klipspringer.  Named for its ability to jump rocks, the Afrikaans translation is “rock jumper.”

A very small antelope averaging about 22 inches (58 cm) high, Oreotragus oreotragus lives in southern and eastern Africa on rocky outcroppings.  It gracefully bounds across the rocks, and lands with all four feet together. This acrobatic skill is their best protection from predators like leopard, jackal, and hyena.  They browse on leaves, berries, and fruits and are not dependent on water; so they can stay isolated and protected high up on the cliffs.

I only saw this rock-dancing antelope once, the pair was hundreds of feet up on a rocky cliff.  But you know how it is when you see an animal that is exhibiting such beautiful skill; you stop and watch…

So you think one has to go to Africa to witness wild predator prey interactions? Ha, I say! Just go to central London. And, no I am not talking about the tube strike…..

Actually, we left Africa and flew to London on the first leg home to The Holler. We were looking forward to a spell of civilization and culture. But it seems, our safari was to continue in London. We checked into a hotel quite near the crowds and hustle of the British Museum, and I looked out our hotel window onto a city park, and this was the sight that greeted me!

There were four foxes in this family in the center of London. There were magpies too. Occasionally the foxes would snag a magpie which resulted in the magpies giving the foxes holy hell for hours. They would taunt and goad them.

I was supposed to be…