How is that fun?” asked US talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel in a segment about trophy hunting aired after Cecil, a well-known lion tagged by researchers, was killed in Zimbabwe by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer in 2015. Kimmel choked up as he asked viewers to donate to Oxford University’s conservation research programme, and his shame and […]
Category: Wildlife
Pollona azul (Purple gallinule) Porphyrio martinica
Luego de mucho tiempo transcurrido sin mostrar a la Pollona azul en el blog, comparto en esta entrada estas fotografías que pude obtener en Punta Cana / República Dominicana de individuos adultos y un juvenil que fotografié en los manglares cercanos a la habitación en el hotel. Solo tenía que levantarme temprano para instalarme cómodamente […]
Krill fishing companies pledge to protect key food of Antarctic animals
A majority of krill fishing companies have announced their commitment to voluntarily stop harvesting the tiny crustaceans from vast areas of the Antarctic Peninsula, including around important breeding penguin colonies.The announcement on July 9 follows years of campaigns and negotiations led by environmental groups such as Greenpeace. “This is a bold and progressive move from […]
Anderson’s Rock Agama – Tanoumah
Whilst birding the Tanoumah area recently I came across an Anderson’s Rock Agama Acanthocercus adramitanus. This species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula, where it is found in west and south Arabia, from Taif (Saudi Arabia) in the north to Dhofar (Oman) in the east. Its range includes Oman, Yemen, and southwestern Saudi Arabia and […]
POLL: Should Iceland be sanctioned for continuing to slaughter whales?
Iceland’s lone whaling company’s ongoing defiance of an international ban on commercial whaling is outrageous and offence enough as it continues to target endangered fin and minke whales, but now it’s reached a new low after having illegally slaughtered the first blue whale in decades. After a two year break from whaling, Hvalur hf announced […]
Caterpillar Envy
A few weeks ago a friend of mine who lives nearby posted a picture on Facebook of a caterpillar like the one above. What a cool caterpillar! Was I ever jealous! Then a few days later this one showed up at my place. So, yay! I got my own! It’s the caterpillar of the white-marked […]
Eight of 14 rhinos die after move to Kenyan national park
Eight out of 14 critically endangered black rhinos have died after being moved to a reserve in southern Kenya, wildlife officials have revealed, in what one conservationist described as “a complete disaster”. Preliminary investigations pointed to salt poisoning as the rhinos tried to adapt to saltier water in their new home, the Kenyan Ministry of […]
Charging Elephant in Kabini
On this trip to Kabini, we were greeted with showers, given that it was the monsoon season. The great thing about monsoon is that the forest is transformed and the color saturation is at a new high. As we entered the park, we saw a huge tusker standing beside a tree. The moment the Tusker […]
POLL: Should trophy hunting of lions be made illegal?
On June 7th, a trophy hunter shot a male lion in Umbabat Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, a part of the Greater Kruger National Park. Nothing surprising about this: around 500 lions, usually males, are killed every year by trophy hunters on the African continent. What’s made this different is the suspicion that the […]
Arabian Skittering Frog – Saleh Al Dahna
Whilst birdwatching Salal Al Dahna valley, at 1900 metres in the Asir mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia I found a large pool of water with several adult Arabian Skittering Frogs. The Arabian Skittering Frog or Arabian Five-fingered Frog Euphlyctis ehrenbergiiis a species of frog in the Dicroglossidae family found in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It […]
