Wildtravel 04/14 by StStilinski

WILDTRAVEL April 2014 I £3.99

Discover the world’s most amazing wildlife

Serengeti-Mara safari guide

New look!

Get up close to the great migration at Africa’s most famous safari destination

Great debate

Is it right to rewild the UK?

Trip report

We reveal the plans to reintroduce many of the nation’s long-lost species

Life in Liwonde National Park

Freeze-frame: Arctic gallery

We meet the laid-back inhabitants of Malawi’s most prolific wildlife area

Amazing images of life in the Arctic circle, from Norway to north Alaska

Inca gold

BIRD WATCHING IN THE CANARY ISLANDS

Discover Peru’s natural wonders and ancient civilisations with our essential country guide

WILDLIFEEXTRA.COM

TOUR OF BRITAIN: BROWNSEA ISLAND

SPOTTER’S GUIDE TO DRAGONFLIES

CONTENTS 12

Regulars 12 Wild world We review the latest images of the world of wildlife, from Antarctica to Southern Australia, and offer our round-up of the latest wildlife conservation and travel news

22 Wild UK c Inspiration for wild days out and weekends in April, including a guide to Brownsea Island, off the Dorset coast, and the latest wildlife events

101 The knowledge c Our experts explain how to navigate by nature, help a fledgling and choose the best organisation for a wildlife volunteering holiday. Plus book, DVD and binocular reviews 26

114 Column: Confessions of a wildlife traveller Are you listening carefully? If the answer is “no” you might be missing some of the world’s best wildlife experiences, says Mike Unwin

Departments 07 Editor’s welcome 08 Inbox Our selection of the latest comments, tweets, photos and wildlife stories we’ve received

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4 APRIL 2014

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WELCOME Could Eurasian lynx be found roaming Britain’s countryside once again?

Contributors

James Lowen James enjoys winter sun and wildlife during a holiday on the Canary Island of Fuertaventura

Philip Briggs

Are we right to rewild?

COVER IMAGE: © FRANS LEMMENS/ALAMY. ABOVE: KONRAD WOTHE/MINDEN PICTURES/FLPA

What do beavers, lynx, wolves and white-tailed eagles have in common? The answer is that they were all once native to the UK before being wiped out by man thanks to a raft of different reasons. But is it possible for the same species to thrive here once again? A growing number of conservation bodies seem to think so, with projects already underway to reintroduce both the European beaver and white-tailed eagle in Scotland. The concept of bringing back lost species is a contraversial one, with opinions fiercely divided as to whether it is possible, or even a good idea, to ‘rewild’ landscapes that have changed dramatically since the species’ original demise. While lobbyists from the farming and fishing industries argue that the reintroduction of predatory animals would be bad for business, putting both livestock and livelihoods at risk, there are others from within the scientific and conservation community who argue that our energies (and resources) would be far better spent trying to save our remaining wildlife. To decide what side of the debate you sit on, turn to our special report on page 50, and please don’t forget to get in touch to let us know what you think. Matt Havercroft, Editor

WILDTRAVEL To subscribe Tel: 0844 848 4211 Email: wildtravel@subscription.co.uk www.subscriptionsave.co.uk www.greatbritishmagazines.com (US only) To advertise ADVERTISING GROUP SALES MANAGER Kim Lewis, Tel: 01242 211 072; kim.lewis@archant.co.uk ACCOUNT MANAGERS Katy Byers, Tel: 01242 265 890, katy.byers@ archant.co.uk; Justin Parry, Tel: 01242 216 060, justin.parry@archant.co.uk

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To contact editorial Archant House, Oriel Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1BB ; Tel: 01242 211 080 Email: editorial@wildtravelmag.com EDITOR Matt Havercroft DEPUTY EDITOR Sheena Harvey EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Debbie Graham DESIGNER Steve Rayner ARCHANT SPECIALIST MANAGING DIRECTOR Mark Wright; mark.wright@archant.co.uk For customer services Tel: 01242 216 002; Email: sylvie.wheatley@ archant.co.uk, or estelle.iles@archant.co.uk Printing William Gibbons ISSN 2048-2485

© Archant Specialist 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of Archant Ltd. Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is correct at the time of going to press, we cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience however caused. For the latest travel and health information on all destinations covered in the magazine, go to www.fco.gov.uk

WILD TRAVEL IS AN OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNER OF

Philip offers his guide to the natural wonders of the vast Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem

Graeme Green Graeme shares the stories of his encounters at Liwonde National Park in Malawi

Will Gray Planning a trip to Peru? Look no further than Will’s essential wildlife-watcher’s guide

On the cover...

Cover image: a whitelined leaf frog at Manú Biosphere Reserve, Peru

APRIL 2014 7

InBox Winning letter Pale and interesting This bird has been in and around our garden for many weeks, with lots of (not very clear) photos taken. We were told that it was an albino sparrow by a passing bird watcher, but we don’t think it is. It seems larger than the sparrows it mixes with, and aggressively fought off a starling for food. Also it is not afraid, being the last to fly off when the birds are disturbed in the garden. We live at Scatness,

Send us your thoughts on the magazine, wildlife travel pictures and recommendations, or stories of your own wildlife encounters. The author of our favourite letter, picture and story will receive a brilliant wildlife book

on the most southerly part of Shetland, just across a narrow piece of water between the mainland and Fair Isle, where there are many migrant birds to be found, year round. So we wondered if it was an unusual visitor. Kathy Greaves, Shetland

Editor writes: I’m afraid we think the bird watcher was right and it is a sparrow. There was an outside chance it could have been a leucistic chaffinch but the fact that it’s hanging around with sparrows would suggest not. Its bold nature probably comes from having to stick up for itself as it can’t say it could really blend into the crowd! Have you had any strange wildlife sightings? If so, upload pictures to our flickr site http://www.flickr.com/ groups/wild_travel and tell us when and where they were taken

Ah tellement! “Dream about visiting polar bears in the wild? Your personal tour guide from @wild_travel is here: wwf.to/MI6T6I” From Marie-Julie @MamaGobelin

Watch the birdie I recognised myself in the words in your Editor’s opening letter in the February issue, where he talked about being a keen-but-slightly-clueless photographer. Then I was inspired by your UK Wildlife Photography Locations article. Imagine my delight when a pair of red kites put on a fantastic aerial display over my house, giving me an ideal opportunity to practice my wildlife photography before venturing further afield. Barbara Evans, Oakley, Hants 8 APRIL 2014

Marine disapproval I suppose it’s good news that DEFRA is even considering more Marine Conservation Zones for the UK, (www. wildlifeextra.com/go/news/MoreMCZs-037.html) but the snail’s pace that this is going is just farcical. I was on the lobby to Parliament in December 2008, over five years ago, and we were delighted when the Act was passed the following year. Then, more than 100 MCZs were put forward, only to be met with prevarication from the Government, which wanted ‘more information’. It was lobbied, no doubt, by vested interests in the fishing and sailing communities. It is pathetic, and a sad representation of the supposed ‘greenest government ever’. Andrea Polden, via the website

Dogged determination I was amazed to see a photo of lions in the January issue InBox that was a remarkable resemblance to one of my own from a trip to Botswana last June. There were only four of us in the vehicle, ourselves and another couple we’d met in the camp. We must have seen the same pride with their giraffe kill as your reader Helen Gee did. The story of our next camp is what I wanted to share with you, though. I wanted to go to somewhere where there was a good chance of seeing wild dogs. On our second morning we came upon a well known pack just before they started on their morning hunt. They came together near the den of a clan of hyenas and started annoying the hyenas by running in, taking a nip and quickly pulling back. The hyenas, though quite a bit larger than the dogs, stood there and took the harassing for about 10 minutes. By that time the dogs had had enough sparring and as if by command took off on their morning hunt. We last saw them looking for a place to cross the Moremi River, under the nose of a resident hippo. We’ve travelled all over Africa. Amazing land, amazing wildlife, amazing guides! Alexander Toromanov, via email Editor writes: Alexander’s image of a hippo squaring up to wild dogs wins our reader photo of the month (see right). .@wild_travel March edition cites@ IUCNShark report quoting@ SharkAdvocates call for dramatic acceleration in pace of effective conservation From The Shark Trust @ SharkTrustUK

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InBox Your photos

This month’s selection of photos from our Flickr site

1 Yikes! A female lion and her cub on the prowl in Tarime, Mara, Tanzania watched by two worried onlookers. Taken by David Nunn. 2 “This little guy is now a daily visitor to the garden,” says photographer Christine Cassidy. “He has mastered the feeder and can now get in, out and off in seconds.” 3 A trio of Dalmatian pelicans captured at Lake Kerkini, Greece, by Rod Calbrade. 4 One of nature’s strangest creatures, an anteater, taken by Paul Wild on a trip to Guyana.

5 A hippo squaring up to a pack of African wild dogs taken by Alexander Toromanov at the Moremi Wildlife Reserve in Botswana.

To upload your own or view and comment on those already there visit www.flickr.com/groups/wild_travel

Winning image

APRIL 2014 9

InBox Your stories Bearly escaped I was hiking an old snowmobile trail in Canada and stumbled across a large male black bear feeding on an old deer carcass. Needless to say, I surprised him, which is definitely a no-no when in the bush, especially when he looked as worldly wise as this one. It is best to avoid bears that look like they have recently got into a fight with another bear... and have won! I took three photographs and I thought this one was perfect, but then

I had to carefully extract myself from the situation as he was growling at me and making a show of his teeth. I slowly backed down over the hill. I was tense the whole time, waiting for that horrifying sound that would signal that he was giving chase. Thankfully, he decided to stay with his meal and I got away, thinking it was too close that time; hopefully never again. That is what filled my mind while the bear filled my frame. Jon Hurd, Canada via our Flickr site

It’s #PolarBearDay! Take a look at this great field guide from@wild_travel on these amazing animals po.st/PKhk8r From WWF UK @wwf_uk

L U V

E R U T

D P U

E T A

While the safety of vultures in Asia might at last be going someway to being safeguarded in Europe it could be another story. On our website (www.wildlifeextra.com) we reported that the problem drug diclofenac has been authorised for veterinary use on domestic livestock in Italy and Spain, where 80 per cent of European vultures live. From there it’s expected to spread to the rest of Europe. Needless to say, this news was greeted with outrage by our social media community.

A feast of vultures I was very interested to read the news item called “Vulture Victims” in the March issue about how East Africa and India’s populations have been devastated by the use of the drug diclofenac in cattle. A fortnight ago I returned from a trip to Nepal where we visited a ‘vulture restaurant’. This was at a place called Nawalparasi, near Chitwan. It was set up by SAVE (Saving Asia’ s Vultures from Extinction) with the assistance of various sponsors, including the RSPB. We were told all about the background to the problem, met the people who has set up the operation and then given a chance to watch the vulture restaurant in action. We were led to a special hide where a cow carcass had been made ready. When we were safely inside the hide, the guards disappeared and it was only a few minutes later that the vultures started flying down. They very quickly devoured the carcass and after just 20 minutes only the bones remained. The 80 or so vultures had totally consumed all the available meat! It was very dramatic! This vulture restaurant is one of a number set up in India and Nepal after the local areas were cleared of diclofenac. The one we visited was set up by a community-led group and is within a “Vulture Safe Zone”. These restaurants seem to be doing an excellent job is supporting the remaining populations of vultures and helping them to thrive. Charles Kinsey, by email 10 APRIL 2014

Who decided to allow this potential disaster to be unleashed? It is complete madness to ignore the known outcome and not to learn from mistakes made in other countries. There is no excuse for ignorance, the effects have been documented and have shown the devastation that will occur in now European countries due to diclofenac poisoning of vultures and probably other species, too. After so much money and time has been spent on conserving and repopulating vultures in the EU! Madness. Ban this dangerous drug and any other like it. Fiona Burrows, via our website What do you think? Join the debate at www.wildlifeextra.com/ go/news/vulture-killing-drug-014.html

Gettting in touch EMAIL: editorial@wildtravelmag.com PHONE: 01242 211 080 FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/wildtravelmag TWITTER: @wild_travel We welcome your letters but reserve the right to edit them. Please include a daytime telephone number and, if emailing, a postal address (this will not be published)

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Belarus

Nuclear family A pair of European bison pictured in the Polesie State Radiation and Ecological Reserve in the Gomel region of Belarus. Bison are now thriving in the reserve, which is the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest and borders the 30-kilometer Chernobyl exclusion zone, established following the 1986 nuclear plant disaster in Ukraine. Virtually free from human activity after more than 200,000 people were evicted from the area in the aftermath of the disaster, the reserve has become a haven for the bison and other wildlife, including lynx, badger, bears and Przewalskiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s horse.

Wildworld Latest visions from the world of wildlife

Antarctica

Queue jumping A line of seven chinstrap penguins take turns to jump into the sea from an iceberg in the Antarctic Sound. The speciesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; name derives from the narrow black line of feathers that runs across their cheeks, making them one of the most easily-identifiable penguins. They are well adapted for the extreme cold of the Antarctic waters, with short, densely packed feathers to retain heat, and a water proofing layer to keep the water out. However, over recent years the breeding population of chinstrap penguins has declined significantly as temperatures have increased on the Antarctic Peninsula. Their natural predators include leopard seals and birds such as skuas that prey on their chicks and eggs.

Wildworld

India

Railside rescue Commuters attempt to feed an elephant calf after it fell into a ditch near a railway track in the Goalpara district of Assam in India. Stuck fast in the muddy ravine, the elephant was eventually rescued unharmed after the passengers from a passing train convinced the driver to stop so they could free it. Officials say the elephant had been walking across rail tracks when it fell into the ditch. Accidents involving elephants are not uncommon in the area, prompting calls to restrict rail speeds.

Turkey

Bear necessities A tiny three-day old bear cub is treated at the Uludağ University Veterinary Faculty in Bursa, north west Turkey, after it was found almost frozen in Alapli on the country’s Black Sea Coast. The cub, which has been named Şanslı (meaning lucky), is being treated in the intensive care unit at the veterinary faculty, where it has overcome a lung infection.

Australia

Thirsty work A pair of New Holland honeyeaters have to improvise to find refreshment during the heatwave in southern Australia, where temperatures soared over 40°C in many places. According to a report published by the country’s Climate Council, more than 150 weather records have been broken over their summer.

Worldwide

TAKEN TO TUSK Two sides of the ivory battle being fought across the world Ivory stockpiles are gradually diminishing with some countries destroying tons of impounded ivory, and taking a very visible anti-poaching and trafficking stance. Belgium is the latest country to declare it will destroy stocks of seized illegal ivory on 9 April, following the lead of France, the US, Chad, the Philippines, and China. Sonja Van Tichelen, European Regional Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said: “The Belgian government should be saluted for taking a firm and public stand on ivory trafficking. Not only are we losing an elephant every 15 minutes but the trade is undercutting law and order in elephant range states and enriching organised crime syndicates – slaughter of elephants must be stopped.” On the other side of the coin, however, a Ugandan court recently set a dangerous

precedent in ruling that 2.9 tonnes of impounded ivory, comprising 832 individual pieces, should be handed back to the suspected smugglers, who claimed that the haul was legally in transit with a permit from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They further claimed erroneously that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species did not prohibit dealing in ivory from culled animals or those that had died of natural causes. Uganda’s Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities expressed dismay at the ruling in terms of “the damage this has on tourism development and wildlife conservation in Uganda.”

By numbers

$2,200 Europe

Seabird wreck Following the severe storms of the last three months, more than 28,000 seabirds have been found dead along coasts of southwest Europe, from Spain to northern Scotland. The first sign of the seabird wreck appeared in France, with thousands of puffins washing up dead or starving. The RSPB said that feeding in storm-tossed seas must be akin to trying to see and catch fish inside a washing machine set on spin. Dr Euan Dunn, RSPB principal marine

20 APRIL 2014

The value of a kilo of elephant ivory

New species

DEEP DIVING WHALE Based on the study of animals stranded on remote tropical islands, researchers have identified a new species of beaked whale – a widespread but little-known type of toothed whale found in deep ocean waters. “They are rarely seen at sea due to their elusive habits and long dive capacity,” said Dr Merel Dalebout, research leader. The first specimen was found on a Sri Lankan beach in 1963. Then director of Ceylon’s museums, Paulus Deraniyagala, claimed its uniqueness and named it Mesoplodon hotaula, after the local words for ‘pointed beak’. Its status as a new species was then disputed, but recent DNA analysis of new specimens has proved Deraniyagala right.

SOURCE: US GOVERNMENT

advisor, said: “This seabird wreck, on a scale unprecedented in living memory, could have profound impacts on vulnerable seabird breeding colonies, including the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly.” To help monitor the event, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) urges beachcombers to check for rings if they find dead birds. Mark Grantham of the BTO said: “These ringed birds are of great interest to us, as from the rings we are able to find out which breeding colonies they have come from and the possible impacts.” Ring numbers can be reported at www.ring.ac.

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Shorts

Our roundup of the latest news, discoveries and tours that have got the wildlife world talking. For more, sign up to our weekly e-newsletter at www.wildlifeextra.com

Wildlife weekends

Sand and deliver A

flower so petite that an adjacent blade of grass dwarfs it. A flower so localised that it occurs at just two British sites. A flower so rare that it flirts with national extinction. And a flower so reclusive that it remains resolutely shut unless there is full sun. Such is the sand crocus. What more quixotic a quarry for your weekend? Dawlish Warren, a sandy spit puncturing Devon’s Exe Estuary, is a botanist’s delight. Spend the morning on hands and knees as you search for rare plants. Sand crocus flowers in late March or early April. You should see them easily in short, sandy grassland that lines the compound by the visitor centre. But only if the sun shines will the lilac petals part. Alongside the sand crocus, enjoy the delicate white flowers of both upright chickweed and subterranean clover, the latter so-named because its seeds develop underground. Between the 22 APRIL 2014

visitor centre and main pond, look for early meadow-grass. Although early April is rather late for the throngs of mating amphibians, you should still see common toad at the pond itself. Then walk to ‘dune ridge’, between the seawall and Warren Point. You may chance upon a stoat pursuing rabbits. Look carefully at sheltered sunny spots for the ridge’s star species: sand lizard. Early April is the time to see this rare reptile, and the introduced population is thriving. Freshly emerged lizards bask for prolonged periods and allow close approach. The males are garbed vivid green as they gear up for the breeding season. Take care not to misidentify a common lizard, which also inhabits the ridge and can appear greenish. Dawlish Warren holds one of the Exe Estuary’s main high-tide wader roosts, best viewed from the hide overlooking the Bight. The principal participants are

ringed plover, dunlin, oystercatcher, grey plover, sanderling and turnstone. At Warren Point, the distal end of the spit, the undisturbed dunes are home to skylark, and maritime plants such as sea spurge and sea-holly. Worth the walk. Depart Dawlish westwards for a late afternoon stroll at one of two Devon Wildlife Trust reserves. If you wish to see wild daffodils try the riverside at Dunsford. The alternative walk is at Chudleigh Knighton Heath. Amidst the ling, bell heather and western gorse, there is a chance of adder absorbing solar rays before the evening chills. Peer into the depths of pools for great crested newt. But the site’s speciality is somewhat smaller. Chudleigh Knighton is one of very few remaining English locations for narrow-headed ant. This globally threatened invertebrate has disappeared from a swathe of southern England and has become truly rare. In heathland in the wildlifeextra.com

A walk along the Devon coast in April means sand lizards, porcelain crabs and cirl buntings. But begin your wildlife hunting with a bit of botany, writes James Lowen

WildUK Clockwise from left: the sand lizard begins to become more active at this time of year; a long-clawed porcelain crab is one of five crabs found along the beaches; the cirl bunting that is closely associated with Devon; the extremely rare sand crocus

PRACTICALITIES

reserve’s southernmost compartment, adjacent to the A38, look out for plate-sized anthills, and end the day as you started – on your hands and knees. Spend day two at Wembury, southwest Devon, which volunteers one of Britain’s finest rockpooling experiences and one of its rarest songbirds. Spending the hour either side of low tide on the shore, indulge in an exciting activity oft-neglected since childhood. The lowest tides (a few days after the new moon) expose the greatest expanse of rocky reefs and residual pools. The best gullies are those strewn with seaweed nearest the tideline. With careful searching, you should find a dozen or more species of marine marvel having emerged from winter sojourns in deeper waters. If you extract animals using a bucket (not a net), house them singly in a vessel containing seawater and repatriate the creatures to their lairs. Beadlet anemone is common; one-third of its 7cm length comprises retractable tentacles. Yellow spots on a red column gives the strawberry anemone its name. Snakelocks anemone has purple-tipped wildlifeextra.com

tentacles 15cm long. Blue-rayed limpets, strip-lit with neon, cling to rocks. You may see five types of crab: common hermit, porcelain, velvet swimming, edible and shore. Small fish include rock goby, tompot blenny and common blenny. The latter holes up under seaweed-covered rocks, relying on camouflage to elude detection. As the tide rises, retreat to dry land. Replace pooling paraphernalia with binoculars. Harbouring sensitively managed coastal fields and hedgerows, Wembury is prime cirl bunting territory. No bird is more closely associated with Devon than this attractive, stripe-headed seedeater. A beneficiary of collaboration between conservationists and cultivators, cirl bunting populations have trebled in 20 years and are looking healthy. Seeing cirl buntings at Wembury requires patience. The valley footpath between village and beach is good. Likewise the coastal footpath and adjacent fields west towards Heybrook bay. Scan hedgerows and prominent perches, and listen for the dry rattling song. Once sated with southwest specialities, it’s hometime.

WHERE TO GO: Dawlish Warren (SX981787; Tel: 01626 863980 www. dawlishwarren.co.uk) comprises two nature reserves with open access. From the A379 Exeter–Dawlish road, follow signs east to Dawlish Warren, under the railway bridge. Dunsford and Chudleigh Knighton Heath are Devon Wildlife Trust reserves (Tel: 01392 279244; www.devonwildlifetrust.org/ reserve). For Steps Bridge (SX805883), park 1km w of Boyland Farm (SX784893), 3km w of Dunsford along the minor road to Clifford Bridge, and follow the footpath south to reach Cricket Pitch Glade. Chudleigh Knighton Heath (SX838772) is 2.5km se of Bovey Tracey and there is open access at several points off the minor road from the A38 to north of the B3344. Wembury beach (SX519484) is south of Wembury village. SUGGESTED BASES: Exeter (www. exeterviews.co.uk), Bovey Tracey (www.devon-stay.com), Ashburton (www.ashburton.org), Buckfastleigh (www.buckfastleigh.org), Ivybridge (www.ivybridge-devon.co.uk). Kilbury Manor (Tel: 01364 644079; www. kilburymanor.co.uk) in Buckfastleigh offers comfortable rooms. FLEXIBILITY: The short flowering window of sand crocus (end of March to early April) limits flexibility. Sand lizard is active mid-March to Sept, but is best between April and May. Low tides are essential for rockpooling. RECOMMENDED READING: You can purchase James Lowen’s 52 Wildlife Weekends at the special price of £7.79 (including free UK p&p) by visiting www.bradtguides.com and using discount code WT52. Offer expires 19/02/15

APRIL 2014 23

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WildUK Spotter’s guide

Damsel & dragonflies Spring is here and with it comes the emergence of spectacular damsel and dragonflies. Paul Hetherington of Buglife (www.buglife.org.uk) names six of his favourites

TOP TIP

Wings closed (at rest) = damselflies Wings open = dragonflies

Blue-tailed damselfly

Large red damselfly

Banded damoiselle

Ischneura elegans This is the most ubiquitous damselfly since it is one of the least fussy and most pollutiontolerant species. The males have a blue ring near the end of the abdomen, which is lacking in the female. Though the body is mainly dark, the side of the thorax is the most colourful, varying from bright blue to reddish. These damselflies are found in a very wide range of lowland habitats and are abundant throughout the British Isles. Seen: Throughout the warmer months

Pyrrhosoma nymphula This is the most common red-bodied damselfly, and its black legs confirm identification (the rarer small red damselfly has red legs). It occurs in a very wide range of water margin types, such as ponds, ditches, canals and sluggish rivers, but rarely on fast-flowing rivers or streams. It is also one of the first species to emerge in the spring. It normally has a two-year life cycle and is widespread throughout Britain and Ireland. Seen: April-September

Calopteryx splendens A walk along a lowland riverbank on a summer day is made all the more pleasurable when these large damselflies are present. The mature male has a metallic dark blue colour, while its wings have a distinctive dark blue patch in the middle. The mature females can be identified with males by their uniformly brown wings, while immature males and females are green. They can be spotted widely across lowland England and also Wales. Seen: May-August

Four-spotted chaser dragonfly

Emperor dragonfly

Common darter dragonfly

Libellula quadrimaculata The most distinctive thing about this broad-bodied, brown dragonfly is that each of its four wings have a dark spot near the middle. Both sexes are alike in having a brown abdomen that becomes darker towards the tail. They also both have brown eyes. This dragonfly thrives on boggy pools on English heathland and in Scotland, but is also at home in many other situations and can be found throughout the British Isles. Seen: May-August

Anax imperator As the name suggests, it is a large magnificent insect that is about 78 mm long. The thorax is entirely green and while the male abdomen is mainly bright blue with a dark centre line, the female’s is drabbed greenish blue. In common with other larger dragonflies, the males boldly fly to and fro in defence of their territories. The emperor is widespread in southern England and southern Wales and is gradually spreading its range north and into Ireland. Seen: Summer months

Sympetrum striolatum This very common species is among the small varieties of dragonflies and can be found in England, Wales and Ireland. The body is brown, though mature males develop a reddish colour on the abdomen. It appears in early summer and can be found right through into October. There are a number of related species, such as the Ruddy Darter (abdomen bright red) and migratory species such as the Yellow-winged Darter. Seen: June-November

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APRIL 2014 25

Clockwise from left: red squirrels happily scratch a living with no greys to disturb them; Poole Harbour with Sandbanks in the foreground and Brownsea behind; a pair of sandwich terns courting

Tour of Britain

Brownsea Island Lying just 10 minutes off the Dorset coast, this protected island offers a myriad of habitats – woods, lakes and reedbeds – and some special wildlife

Brownsea Island is owned by the National Trust, with the northern portion of 101 ha (247 acres) leased by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. It is situated in Poole Harbour and has a large, sheltered brackish lagoon ringed by hides. An extensive system of trails and boardwalks give access to reedbeds and alder carr, as well as birch and ancient Scots pine woodland and two freshwater lakes.

black-tailed godwits, the UK’s largest wintering flock of avocets, and a growing number of the exotically beaked spoonbill visiting. Sika, our second largest breed of deer, make alleyways through the reedbeds, and there are approximately 200 red squirrels to be found in the old pine woods. The reeded areas and meadows also host water voles, brimstone, white admiral and purple hairsteak butterflies, and some rare dragonflies, such as the downy emerald.

History Brownsea belonged to Cerne Abbey for centuries, but from Henry VIII’s time, and through the Civil War, it was a military stronghold protecting the port of Poole. In the 18th century it was developed as a private home, the pine woods were planted and freshwater lakes formed. Over the next 200 years, various owners made a living from excavating china clay, growing daffodils and farming, until it was sold in 1927 to Mary Bonham-Christie. She was a recluse who was passionate about animals and she allowed the island to return to a natural state. Brownsea became an important wildlife sanctuary and the National Trust took over at her death in 1961.

Wildlife The lagoon and lakes provide nesting for shelduck, mallard, wigeon, shoveller, teal and gadwall as well as black-headed gulls, common and sandwich terns. There are internationally important numbers of

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Seasonal highlights Love is in the air: it’s the beginning of the nesting season now, so all around the lagoon breeding territories will be establishing. This is the place where little egrets bred for the first time in Britain, and the country’s largest population of spoonbills have been seen. Winter visitors will still be around, and the bar- and black-tailed godwits will be moulting to their terracotta red summer plumage. Sandwich terns begin to return to raise this year’s chicks. Romance among the branches: this is a good time of year to see red squirrels as their courtships lead to fast-paced aerial acrobatics. The ancient Scots pines of Brownsea provide the animals’ staple food of pine cones, supplemented by acorns and hazelnuts in season. The big plus if that there are no grey squirrels on the island to threaten the reds with disease.

NEED TO KNOW OPENING TIMES: 22 March to end Oct. Boats every half an hour, 10.00am to 5.00pm (6.00pm in July and Aug). The ferry for the 10min journey goes from Poole Quay or Sandbanks. PRICES: From Poole £10 adult, £6 child return; from Sandbanks £6 adult, £4.50 child return. To visit National Trust part of the island £6 adult, £3 child, free to NT members. To visit Dorset Wildlife Trust part, £2 adult, £1 child, DWT members free, but member card must be shown. FACILITIES: National Trust side: café; take out coffee bar; toilets; gift shop; 2nd hand bookshop; guided tours; holiday cottage. Dorset Wildlife side: gift shop; exhibition; toilets; five hides. CONTACT DETAILS: Brownsea Island, Poole, Dorset BH13 7EE. Dorset Wildlife Trust: 01305 264620; www. dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/ brownsea_island_nature_ reserve.html. National Trust: 01202 707744; www.national trust.org.uk/brownsea-island wildlifeextra.com

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Flood relief

As the floods recede David Leach of the Somerset Wildlife Trust discusses the impact on local wildlife and what happens next How did Somerset’s floods affect the local wildlife? On the Levels and Moors there is important wetland and traditional farmland – hay meadows, wet pasture, orchards, etc – important for species such as barn owls, skylarks and wildflowers. Internationally important populations of wetland birds flock to the Levels in winter from Europe looking for safe roosting. Remnants of the original wetland plants and invertebrates remain in the ditch network. Threatened species of wading birds such as snipe and redshank breed in the wet grasslands in spring. The impacts of prolonged flooding are therefore complex and serious. For instance, waterlogging disruptes barn owls’ foraging and now it’s doubtful their small mammal prey will repopulate the hay meadows in time for the breeding season. Population movement to avoid flooding can cause stress and increased competition. For example starlings, for which the Levels are famous, have to travel further from their roosting sites in the reedbeds to find suitable foraging. There has also been lots of anecdotal evidence of drowned badgers and other mammals.

What about the plants and insects? We won’t know the impact on these until later this year. The hay-meadow/grassland communities are well adapted to winter flooding, so we expect them to be relatively unaffected, although species adapted to wetter conditions, such as sedges and rushes etc, could dominate nectar-giving species that are important to bees and butterflies. Invertebrate communities are also fairly well adapted to normal winter flooding, but the prolonged floods could have affected their availability as food for species such as skylarks and breeding waders.

Will the species affected bounce back? Breeding wader populations in the Levels are fragile, particularly lapwing, which are now virtually confined to nature reserves. Populations can recover from one bad season, but we are in a run of them at the moment.

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BIG BEACH CLEAN UP 24-30 April Beaches all over the UK At Eastertime why not have a different sort of day at the beach and join like-minded people and the Marine Conservation Society to clean up the beaches of Great Britain so they are ready to enjoy this summer season. www.mcsuk.org/foreverfish

Will any good have come from the flooding? Wetland plants and invertebrates are all aquatic or semi-aquatic and should have coped. Indeed some of the poor dispersers may have benefitted from flooding as it allows more dispersal from isolated, fragmented wetlands and ditch systems. There may also be some dispersal benefit for fish species.

Are there lessons to learn? There is a clear message about landscape-scale conservation. Where good habitat is isolated and fragmented, negative impacts of bad weather are greater for wildlife. We need bigger, better managed and connected patches of habitat so that wildlife can recover from such incidences. We’ll work hard in 2014 to get habitat right on reserves, and encourage farmers to do the same on their land.

MAMMOTHS OF THE ICE AGE Until 20 April National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Unlike dinosaurs and other prehistoric mammals, mastodons and mammoths lived side by side with humans for thousands of years. Now’s your chance to find out what life was like for these ancient giants. www.nms.ac.uk

What can be done to minimise flood impact? Small to medium scale flooding is crucial for wildlife and for beneficial retention of carbon in peat soils. Many of the suggested solutions – dredging of main rivers, a tidal sluice, woodland planting and increasing soil infiltration upstream – will reduce these beneficial small winter floods, but may not help with severe ones. We advocate a range of measures to reduce the impacts and allow land management to adapt. We need an approach that specifies where flooding can be reduced, but also considers where to invest to cope with future unavoidable flooding. Natural habitats can be part of the solution by slowing and storing water.

For information on SWT’s flood management plans, visit www.somersetwildlife.org/floods

EXPEDITION: DANAJON BANK Until August 31 ZSL London Zoo This photographic exhibition explores one of the world’s rarest coral reefs in the Philippines. “I have photographed marine ecosystems all over the world and the Danajon Bank is one of most complex I have ever seen,” says Thomas P Peschak. www.zsl.org APRIL 2014 27

The houbara bustard is one of Europe’s most endangered species and a very good reason for visiting Fuertaventura, where action is being taken to save it from extinction

FIRS 28 APRIL 2014

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Trip Report

FUERTAVENTURA

T wildlifeextra.com

resort Just a short distance from the Canary Island beach resorts of Fuertaventura is a host of rare wildlife found nowhere else on earth, drawn to this arid volcanic rock by precious water BY JAMES LOWEN APRIL 2014 29

ormally supermarket shopping is a chore, but at Caleta de Fustes on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura it can be an unexpected pleasure. As I strolled with my wife and our toddler along the seafront promenade one afternoon, a tiny flash of black and white jolted through the corner of my vision. Then the culprit flicked onto a fence: it was a Fuerteventura stonechat – one of the world’s rarest birds – and it was in the middle of a purpose-built tourist resort. Given this surprising juxtaposition of urban and natural, I was soon volunteering for the daily supermarket run. Before becoming parents, my

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Fuerteventura is the second largest of the Canary Islands. It is also the closest to Africa (lying just 100km off the Moroccan coast) and the driest (raincoats are redundant here). This combination of size, location and aridity makes Fuerteventura special and its dimensions mean that large areas of seminatural habitat remain unspoilt. Proximity to Africa adds interest to the migratory birdlife in particular. And the semi-desert scrub hosts of a suite of specialised creatures. Given that tourists need H2O, much of the island’s standing water lies near resorts. Accordingly, nature thrives in the urban areas: a boon when combining a family holiday with wildlife-watching. Caleta de Fustes’ two golf courses have concrete-banked ponds. Designed as hazards for golfers, these have become unintentional havens for visiting birders. At one, common sandpipers teetered and yellow wagtails refuelled for wildlifeextra.com

wife and I had never doubted that having a child would clip our wings, but were loathe to give up our passion for watching wildlife altogether. So where could we holiday in winter sun, enjoying both creatures and comforts? It may not be Benidorm, but Fuerteventura is assuredly package-break territory. Brilliant beaches and year-round sun make it a mecca for families and beach bums. Yet within spitting distance of the resorts – and even within the hotel complexes themselves – there is rare wildlife to be found. From the haria lizard to the houbara bustard, Fuerteventura hosts a wealth of endemic and globally threatened creatures.

OR WILDIDA F E R A C & E RESCU HORSES IN FLOR MUSTANG

VOLUNTEER WITH AMERINDIAN COMMUNITIES IN THE AMAZON

VOLUNTEER TASMANIAANND CARE FOR DEVILS

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

Trip Report

FUERTAVENTURA

Inglorious bustards The fight is on to conserve one of Fuertaventura’s rarer residents

Here: a pair of trumpeter finches take a refreshing drink from a roadside pool. Right: a geranium bronze butterfly on its favourite flower

their journey north. Nearby, an effluent channel looked and smelt awful, but was lined with little ringed plovers, patrolled by lesser emperor dragonflies and flanked by hoopoes. It soon became clear that we could enjoy wildlife without even leaving our hotel complex. Ice creams in hand, we watched southern grey shrikes divest the lawns of beetles. The gardens attracted migrating warblers and, overhead, plain swifts – a local speciality – harvested flying invertebrates at a velocity that tested my photographic skills. Water features were a magnet for dragonflies such as Sahara blue-tailed damselfly and scarlet darter. A decorative floral display was visited by butterflies, such as green-striped white and greenish black-tip, as well as our inquisitive daughter. As we sipped a sundowner, hundreds of Cory’s shearwaters passed offshore, streaming industriously between the islets for breeding and the seas for feeding. As dusk descended an Algerian hedgehog snuffled under the bushes. Once darkness was complete, the hotel walls were a prime site for East Canary gecko. This sticky-toed lizard with a fetish for vertical surfaces occurs only in the eastern Canaries. And there is no better place to see it than the tourist beat. A routine amenable to us all was rapidly established: out early before breakfast, then family days spent by the pool or, if the sun was shy, on a wildlife trip, followed by a brief evening excursion. We focused pre-breakfast trips on Fuerteventura’s stony plains, called jables, which included La Pared in the south, Tindaya and La Oliva in the north. All of these are within easy striking distance of the resort towns of Caleta de wildlifeextra.com

uerteventura’s must-see bird, the houbara bustard, is also one of Europe’s rarest creatures, considered as threatened with global extinction. The state of the race endemic to the Canary Islands is even more precarious, with only 600 birds thought to remain. The houbara’s stony, semi-desert habitat is under relentless pressure from development. Where habitat persists it can be degraded as a result of grazing by goats. Where birds survive, disturbance by off-road vehicles (often tourists on quad bikes) is rife, and power line collisions are worryingly frequent. Fortunately, action is being taken to conserve Fuerteventura’s bustards. A leading Spanish conservation organisation, SEO/BirdLife has painstakingly identified ‘Important Bird Areas’ where houbaras breed. Working with government authorities, it has helped to create special protected areas under European Union law. Paper protection is not enough in itself, however. Accordingly, experts from SEO/BirdLife have worked with landowners to improve habitat management

practices at the most significant sites. Conservationists and electricity companies have collaborated to identify mortality black spots under power lines and to develop mitigation measures such as changing the spacing or the type of structures. Above all, SEO/BirdLife has

judged it necessary to win hearts and minds. The charity has run educational campaigns in local communities, explaining the impact of human activities on the bustards. It has also raised awareness among tourists whose demands on the island lie at the heart of what currently threatens – but what could ultimately save – Fuerteventura’s houbaras.

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small birds – larks, finches, buntings, pipits and sparrows – congregating at the tiniest of Tindaya’s roadside pools, we realised quite how scarce a resource water is on Fuerteventura. We reasoned that visiting water bodies of any kind was another means of focusing our wildlife watching. We were right. A large pool at Catalina García hosted freshwater waders and a drake blue-winged teal (a North American vagrant). The reservoir at Los Molinos held further transatlantic wanderers: two ring-necked ducks. Earlier in the winter Catalina García had held an Allen’s gallinule, a bird so rare in Europe that serious birders flew from Britain specifically to see it. Flushed with sun and success, we investigated what wildlife could be found on typical tourist excursions. At the salt museum at Salinas del Carmén, Barbary ground squirrels served as car park attendants. Introduced, as its name suggests, from North Africa, this endearing mammal begs for food at many tourist traps. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, it usually seduces even the least animal-aware visitor. A pair of ruddy shelduck, recent colonists from Africa, had sequestered one saltpan as their own. Wintering waders such as turnstone and whimbrel were foraging on another. Sparrows were everywhere, but their smart black, white and chestnut garb revealed them to be Spanish sparrows rather than the house sparrows we are used to. Remarkably, rosy flocks of trumpeter finch were feeding with joyous abandon in wildlifeextra.com

Fustes, Corralejo, Costa Calma and Jandía. At first, and indeed second, sight these ‘badlands’ seemed literally and appositely deserted, with vast expanses of sandy soil punctuated by stones, rocks and the occasional thorny bush. But as we got our eye in, the desert slowly came to life. Lesser short-toed larks materialised by the dozen on dirt tracks, while Berthelot’s pipit strode around singly. The harder we looked, the more we saw, with sightings of the numerous birds and plants for which Fuerteventura is famed. We spotted cactus-like succulent spurges, perfectly adapted to the aridity of their surroundings. A covey of Barbary partridge scuttled through the groves at La Oliva. A pair of black-bellied sandgrouse crouched, tummies kissing the ground as they crawled nervously across the stony slopes. Classier still, cream-coloured coursers – beautiful plover-like creatures with a frown of an eye stripe topping off café crême plumage – alternately scurried or stood stock still. Best of all, though, were the displaying male houbara bustards. Of all Fuerteventura’s birds, houbaras are the must-see. Threatened with global extinction, this turkey-like performer has a stronghold on the island. Puffing itself out almost to the extent of inversion, with white breast feathers inflated back over its head like a plumed mohican, our bustard strutted its stuff for us. Running around in circles, eyes covered, he hoped to attract a female – but unfortunately came nearer to crashing into boulders. We moved on, crossing rocky plains. Watching a flock of

Trip Report

The harder we looked, the more we saw of the birds and plants for which Fuertaventura is famed

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FUERTAVENTURA Clockwise from far left: for those in the know, the resort town of Costa Calma is home to a wealth of wildlife, ; a stone curlew thrives in the arid country; Barbary ground squirrels inhabit the car parks; an East Canary gecko finds a meal in a spiny bush

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Trip Report

FUERTAVENTURA

Left: a Spanish sparrow, with plumage a little sharper and more chestnut than our familiar house sparrows. Here: a flock of ruddy shelduck find the living is easy on one of Caleta de Fustes’ golf courses

the village square. How can a desert bird so highly sought by world birders be so common and urban here? Heading up into the parched mountains we visited the picturesque village of Betancuria. Ground squirrels greeted us as we stumbled from the car. Haria lizards were abundant and similarly confiding. The smallest member of a genus confined to the Canaries, the haria lizard occurs only on Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and their neighbouring islets. We parked in a leafy plaza, and an African blue tit called as we swooned at a monarch butterfly supping nectar from a nearby bush. Huge and vibrantly orange, the butterfly blazed from flower to flower. Famed for its mass migrations from North America to Mexico, the monarch’s empire-building resulted in it colonising the Canary Islands in the 1880s. Descending from the mountains, we followed the tourist trail to Sotavento beach. The long strip of white golden sand proved to be distinctly ‘clothing optional’, but naturalists should not be shy about wandering amidst the naturists. Lagoons litter the flats, attracting shorebirds and spoonbills, gulls and terns. The scrub is excellent for spectacled warbler and southern grey shrike. Barbary ground squirrels and haria lizards provide the non-avian supporting cast. Another beach, further north at Pozo Negro, held similar

fare, with haria lizards shooting about underfoot. A valley of lava reaches the sea here. The huge, black, lichen-strewn boulders are prime habitat for Canary Islands shrew. Unfortunately, this globally threatened endemic kept itself well concealed for our visit. Compensation came in the form of two Fuerteventura stonechat lingering by the beach bars.

TRIP ADVISER

accommodation, meals, transport and the services of the guide. See www. limosaholidays.co.uk

VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK: EU citizens don’t need visas

and wildlife (and people) activity therefore reduced.

GETTING THERE: Both scheduled

TIPS & WARNINGS:

TOUR OPERATORS

Fuertaventura’s winters are generally mild, but the summers are very hot. As the island’s Spanish name suggests, the winds can be strong.

SAMPLE PACKAGE TOUR: Limosa is offering an eight-day autumn guided tour of the Canary Islands, calling at Tenerife, La Gomera and Fuertaventura, and which is led by local bird and wildlife watching guide, Tony Clarke. The tour costs £1,895 per person and includes all 36 APRIL 2014

and charter airline companies fly to Fuerteventura from several British airports. Once on the island you should hire a car if you are travelling independently. Several national and international car hire companies are based at the Fuertaventura international airport.

LIMOSA HOLIDAYS, Tel: 01692 580 623; www.limosaholidays.co.uk

WHEN TO GO: Mid-March to early

IBERIAN WILDLIFE, Tel: 0034 918 989 195; www.iberianwildlife.com

May is probably optimal, with December to March as a second choice. The summer months are hot

NATURETREK, Tel: 01962 733 051; www.naturetrek.co.uk

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COST RATING

Indeed, judging by our experience, no single species illustrates the integration of family package and wildlife holiday here quite like the Fuerteventura stonechat. All the individuals we saw were associated with human habitation in some way – although none more surprising than the pair we watched catching flies around the elephant enclosure at Las Lajitas zoo, flanked by a flotilla of prams and a herd of long-trunked ungulates. Even as we returned to the island’s airport at the end of a wonderful and wildlife-filled fortnight, we watched a stonechat in the ravine beside the airport, providing a delightful parting gift. If this enchanting little bird is indeed able to survive the ravages of tourism developments, and to make a home alongside the resorts, its future may be safer than currently thought. Long may wildlife-watching package holidaymakers continue to combine beach and birds on Fuerteventura.

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Straddling the borders of Tanzania and Kenya, the legendary Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem provides the setting for an unparalleled array of Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural wonders, including the annual migration of two million wildebeest and zebra WORDS BY PHILIP BRIGGS

HIGH PLAINS

DRIFTERS 38 APRIL 2014

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Take me there

SERENGETI-MARA ECOSYSTEM The migration of the wildebeest across different parts of the Serengeti continues throughout the year

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Daybreak at Heroes Point. It’s unexpectedly chilly here, some 2,200m above sea level, on the edge of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater. The surrounding forest, its gnarled boughs laden with old-man’s beard, is lent an enchanted quality by a thin swirling mist that clings to the crater rim.

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he most easterly component of the SerengetiMara is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), where some 40,000 Masai pastoralists and their livestock coexist with prodigious herds of plains wildlife – a rare example of successful multiple land usage. The NCA’s pièce de résistance is the Ngorongoro Crater, which belongs on any global shortlist of natural wonders, both for its scenic qualities and stunning animal viewing. Unfortunately, the somewhat contained nature of the crater does means it can get overcrowded, especially in high season. However, the super-relaxed wildlife compensates, creating wonderful opportunities to watch social interaction and other behaviour. Ngorongoro Crater is the centrepiece of the sprawling Crater Highlands, whose moist southeast slopes support extensive tracts of Afro-montane forest and a wealth of localised birds, including the lovely bar-tailed trogon and golden-winged sunbird. Other craters include the 6km wide, 300m deep Empakaai, whose rim offers spectacular views both to the crater floor – where an emerald green soda lake is frequently tinged pink with thousands of flamingos – and to the distinctive volcanic outline of Ol Doinyo Lengai. Alluded to in the Masai name Serengit (‘endless plain’), a flat and horizonless ocean of grass, cropped and yellow in the dry season, tall and green after the rains, extends from the

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Gradually the mist dissipates to reveal a formation of tiny black dots inching ant-like across the grassy plains hundreds of metres below. A large herd of buffalo – or perhaps wildebeest – embarking on its daily perambulations. Further in the distance, the crater floor dips towards a pretty oval lake, the edges of which shimmer pink as the first sunlight refracts off the flamingos that line the shallows. Ngorongoro is the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera and Africa’s most spectacular natural arena: a 260 sq km expanse of fertile savannah hemmed in by a perfect bowl of 500m tall cliffs. It is also renowned for its prodigious wildlife. The crater floor is home to tens of thousands of plains grazers – wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and the like – ensuring that the world’s densest populations of lion and spotted hyena seldom go hungry. It also provides refuge to some two dozen endangered black rhino, and forms something of a retirement home for aging elephant bulls, many weighed down by tusks of a stature elsewhere sacrificed to the ivory trade. Heroes Point provides a magnificent vulture’s eye introduction not only to the Ngorongoro Crater, but also to the legendary Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem, which extends over 30,000 unfenced sq km of Tanzania and Kenya, and forms the setting of an annual migration comprising two million wildebeest and zebra. Centred on northern Tanzania’s 14,763 sq km Serengeti National Park, this vast cross-border ecosystem also incorporates the 8,292 sq km Ngorongoro Conservation Area (part of the original Serengeti National Park when it was created in 1951, but re-zoned as a multiple land usage area in 1959 in response to Masai protests at being evicted from their traditional grazing grounds), along with Kenya’s 1,510 sq km Masai Mara National Reserve, and a number of game controlled areas and Masai ranches to be found in both countries. A simple monument at Heroes Point commemorates the many rangers who have died protecting the area’s abundant wildlife from poachers. A nearby cairn marks the graves of the father-and-son conservationists Bernhard and Michael Grzimek. Tragically, Michael died at the age of 24 when his

plane crashed a few kilometres north of the crater during a wildlife survey in January 1959. But it was the Grzimek’s Oscarwinning documentary Serengeti Shall Not Die, released a few months after Michael’s death, that first created global awareness of the pressing need to preserve this unique migratory ecosystem. More that 50 years have passed since then, and the Serengeti-Mara is not merely alive, but in encouragingly good health. True, the populations of a few endangered species have plummeted – most strikingly black rhinoceros and African wild dog – but most are stable or on the increase. Indeed, the Grzimeks’ late 1950s survey estimated a total population of up to 400,000 wildebeest, as compared to around 1.5 million today. And the ecosystem is almost without peer when it comes to numbers and variety of predators: blond-maned lions lounge nonchalantly in the shade, solitary cheetahs pace the open plains, leopards reveal their presence in the tree canopies with a occasional flick of the tail, spotted hyenas lope and sniff around their subterranean dens, and smaller plains residents include the dainty bat-eared fox, all three African jackal species, numerous types of mongoose, and nocturnal viverrids such as genet and honey-badger.

Take me there

SERENGETI / MASAI MARA

Clockwise from top: an elephant feeds in a hippo pool in Ngorongoro Crater; a large flock of lesser flamingoes; tourists observing wildlife in the Serengeti; a cheetah chooses a high perch to look out for prey

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Take me there

SERENGETI-MARA ECOSYSTEM

FOLLOWING THE MIGRATION The best place to be, at the best time The Serengeti migration follows a reasonably predictable annual cycle, albeit with some variation from one year to the next, depending on the precise timing of the rains. The cycle breaks up into the following main phases:

DECEMBER–APRIL The wildebeest disperse into the plains around Ndutu, in the southern SerengetiNgorongoro border area, at the start of the short rains, typically late November. Herds of 10,000-plus animals feast on the green grass through the short rains and into the long rains, until they end, usually in early May. The birthing season peaks in February, when thousands of calves are dropped daily, attracting high predator concentrations.

MAY–JULY The beginning of this period is when the wildebeest congregate on the southern plains in preparation for the main northward migration. The spectacular Grumeti River crossing in the Western Corridor typically occurs in June/July. It might take place up to two weeks from when the first pioneering herds arrive at the southern bank of the Grumeti.

AUGUST–NOVEMBER The migration crosses the

base of the Crater Highlands across the western half Clockwise from top: Mara River, usually in August, before dispersing across the elephants in the of the NCA and the southeast portion of Serengeti plains of the northwest Serengeti and Masai Mara. From Serengeti; a Nile then on, herds of up to a few thousand wildebeest National Park. These treeless plains often host ostrich crocodile pursues a regularly travel back and forth across the Mara River in and eland, respectively the world’s largest species of wildebeest; black response to rainfall, with each crossing being a genuine bird and antelope. Wildlife activity peaks from rhino in the Ngorongoro Crater spectacle. In October, sometimes earlier, a last southward November to May, when the rains act as a magnet to crossing of the Mara River precedes the long march back the migrant herds of wildebeest and zebra. to Ndutu, with the migration usually passing through the The Serengit is punctuated by scattered clusters of Lobo area between late October and mid November. ‘koppies’, ancient granitic outcrops that protrude above the volcanic topsoil. These gargantuan boulders provide an important and relatively leafy perennial Seronera River is one of the best places in Africa to microhabitat for non-plains wildlife such as the adorable rock search for leopard – there are simply too few tall trees for hyrax, colourful agama lizard and various cliff-nesting these normally elusive creatures to hide as successfully as they raptors. The most productive of these for wildlife is Moru can in other habitats. Lions are conspicuous here, too, and Koppies, which supports an isolated population of 25 black Seronera is one of the few places in Africa where these most rhinos, descended from a smaller herd that migrated from the terrestrial of felids regularly take to the trees – a strange and NCA in the mid 1990s. Lions are often seen on the koppies, rather splendid sight. while cheetah prowl the grassland in between. Seronera is also a good place to seek several bird species Situated where the south eastern plains converge with the endemic to Tanzania, or to the Serengeti-Mara, or to both. more wooded northern savannah, Seronera Valley is the focal These ‘Serengeti specials’ include the handsome grey-throated point of tourism in Serengeti National Park. Here, a light strip spurfowl, the exquisite Fischer’s lovebird, and the oddball of camelthorn acacias and sausage trees flanking the wildlifeextra.com

APRIL 2014 43

Clockwise from left: a giraffe and its young in the Masai Mara reserve; Masai men talking in the Serengeti National Park; little bee-eaters; the herd of zebra in Ngorongoro Crater

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Take me there

SERENGETI-MARA ECOSYSTEM

rufous-tailed weaver, whose scaly feathering, pale eyes and habit of bouncing around boisterously in small flocks could lead to it being mistaken for a type of babbler – albeit one with an unusually large bill! Travel north or west of Seronera, and the Serengeti offers a very different experience, being altogether more untrammelled, with open plains giving way to thicker acacia woodland. The Western Corridor, which stretches all the way to the eastern shore of Lake Victoria, is dominated by the Grumeti and Mbalageti Rivers, both of which support jungle-like ribbons of riparian forest. Hippos wallow gleefully in both rivers, while the broken savanna supports substantial resident populations of lion, giraffe, elephant, wildebeest, Coke’s hartebeest and zebra, and the open grassland north of the Grumeti is good for cheetah. Tourist traffic in the Western Corridor is low except over June/July, when the Grumeti crossing forms one of the most dramatic sequences in the migration, and provides a fleshy feast to the river’s monstrous crocodiles. Fewer tourists still get to explore the wooded plains that stretch north towards the Kenyan border. Here, the Lobo Hills, a series of spectacular granite outcrops, are famed for their prides of 20-plus lions. These hills are the best place in the Serengeti to see the rock-loving klipspringer antelope and spectacular Verreaux’s eagle. Cheetah, leopard, serval, spotted

hyena and bat-eared fox are also quite common, and the area supports most of the park’s elephants. The wildebeest almost always pass through Lobo in October, making their southward migration. However, in wetter years they also sometimes show up in July.

he wildest and most alluring chunk of the Serengeti-Mara is the wedge of sloping grassland that divides the Mara River from the Kenyan border – an area so remote that it was effectively closed to tourism prior to 2005, when the first of what are now half-a-dozen small camps opened. These northern plains can offer mind-boggling game-viewing, with plenty of elephant, eland, topi, gazelle, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo and lion present all year round, along with a few regularly seen black rhinos. Over August to October, when the migration hits the area, large herds of wildebeest gather along the river every few days, milling around for hours before initiating a thrilling crossing. The main Kenyan component in the Serengeti-Mara is relatively small, accounting for around five per cent of the ecosystem’s full area. Yet within these compact boundaries, the Masai Mara vies with Ngorongoro Crater for offering the finest game viewing of any public reserve in Africa. Lion and cheetah densities are exceptional, buffalo and elephant are

Geology of the craters

A TURBULENT EARTH SHAPED THE HIGHLANDS OF TANZANIA MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO

he geological cornerstone of the Serengeti-Mara is the Crater Highlands. This sprawling volcanic massif, much of it protected within the NCA, rises from the sweltering eastern Rift Valley floor to a lofty altitude of 3,648m. The chilly climate of these undulating highlands is at odds with the near-equatorial setting, supporting a cover of moist evergreen forest and rolling grassland where Masai cattle graze alongside herds of zebra and gazelle. The volcanic origin of the Highlands is evidenced by a dozen or so large calderas, most famously Ngorongoro Crater (right), but also the little visited Olmoti and

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Empakaai Craters further north. There is ongoing volcanic activity, too, in the form of Ol Doinyo Lengai, the geologically youthful and fitfully explosive Masai ‘Mountain of God’ whose barren ash-strewn slopes rise

to a smoking peak above the western shore of Lake Natron. The Crater Highlands peaked in activity perhaps 2-3 million years ago, when Ngorongoro stood taller than Kilimanjaro does today. Indeed, the grassy flat expanses of the Serengeti Plains were created by Ngorongoro’s eruptions, which blanketed the lowlands to the west in a layer of fine ash that later solidified into a strata impenetrable by tree roots, except where it has been eroded by flowing water. Also owing their existence to Ngorongoro’s outpourings are a pair of celebrated palaeontological sites on the plains below: the most ancient known set of hominid footprints is imprinted in a bed of solidified ash at Laetoli, while a wealth of Australopithecine fossils, some up to 1.75 million years old, have been uncovered at Oldupai Gorge.

APRIL 2014 45

Take me there

SERENGETI-MARA ECOSYSTEM

Wildlife activity peaks when the rains act as a magnet to migrant herds of wildebeest and zebra For expert

TRIP ADVISER

COST RATING

SAMPLE TOUR: Much depends on where you visit, time of year and type of accommodation. Mid to upper range safaris arranged with Expert Africa, taking in Serengeti, Ngorongoro and other Tanzanian parks, are mostly £300-800 pp per day. A budget camping safari organised in Tanzania’s safari capital Arusha will cost around £150-200 pp per day. Budget safaris to Masai Mara are slightly cheaper.

GETTING THERE: British Airways is one of several carriers between UK to the Kenyan capital, 46 APRIL 2014

tips on how to photograph the migration go to page 108

Above: wildebeest cross the Mara River while Marabou stocks wait to scavenge; lions doze in the heat

Nairobi. Carriers to Kilimanjaro International (for north Tanzania) include KLM and Ethiopian Airways.

official low season. There are plenty of discounts available, but great game viewing can still be had.

VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK:

TOUR OPERATORS

UK citizens need a tourist visa before they travel

EXPERT AFRICA, Tel: +44 (0)20 8232 9777 www.expertafrica.com

TIPS & WARNINGS: Malaria is present throughout so take prophylactics. The SerengetiMara is at high altitude and can be cool at night (particularly Ngorongoro Crater), so bring sweaters.

THE TANZANIA SPECIALISTS, Tel: +44 (0)1525 840 149 www.thetanzaniaspecialists.net

WHEN TO GO: The movements of the migration

JOURNEYS DISCOVERING AFRICA, Tel: +44 (0)208 144 4412 www.journeysdiscoveringafrica.com

(see page 43) can be an important factor in deciding the timing of a safari. An excellent time for budget conscious travellers to visit is May, which is the

WILDLIFE WORLDWIDE, Tel: 0845 130 6982 www.wildlifeworldwide.com wildlifeextra.com

numerous, there’s a fair chance of seeing leopard and black rhino, and everything is raised a notch when the migration arrives over August to October to make the crossing of the Mara River in a spectacular flurry of adrenaline-charged activity. At the budget end of the scale, the Masai Mara is a slightly more affordable prospect than the Serengeti. Unfortunately, however, as is the case with Ngorongoro, the sublime wildlife viewing tends to be undermined by heavy crowding, with a dozen or more vehicles often congregating on one lion or leopard sighting. This is worst in the busy area of the Talek River (where most budget safaris operate) and it can also be seasonally obtrusive in the inverted triangle of land between the Talek and Mara. However, the area east of the Mara River has an untouched feel comparable to much of the Serengeti, as do the best of several private concessions bordering the public reserve.

UNFORGETTABLE WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS

JOIN US FOR THE GREAT MARA SERENGETI MIGRATION IN 2014

JOURNEYS DISCOVERING AFRICA

www.journeysdiscoveringafrica.com 020 8144 4412 www.basecampkenya.com

Experience the Migration with Basecamp Explorer and get front row seats to one of the greatest spectacle on earth BASECAMP MASAI MARA Experience the diversity of the Masai Mara. EAGLE VIEW, MARA NABOISHO Indulge in the luxury of one of the 25 Best Eco-Lodges in the World, voted by National Geographic Traveller Magazine. DOROBO BUSH CAMP, MARA NABOISHO Explore unmatchable luxury of simplicity in the heart of the Savannah.

@basecampexplore Basecamp Explorer

Basecamp Explorer Kenya, nominated as one of the 3 Finalists for the 2014 WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. Go to www.wttc.org to ďŹ nd out more

Anatomy of a...

Sperm whale The classic Moby Dick whale is superbly adapted to its aquatic world

Blowhole

A single blowhole on the left side of the sperm whale’s large head is the mechanism by which this mammal breathes. Air sacs just below the blowhole are used for echolocation and to communicate. The ‘blow’ or spray of water that emanates from the blowhole at an angle of 450 when the animal surfaces is actually water vapour caused when its warm breath hits the cooler outside air. On deep dives, the whale must hold its breath for up to 90 minutes.

Eyes

Head

The sperm whale’s head is about one third of its body length, It has the largest brain in the animal kingdom, weighing up to 10kg. There are huge chambers in the head, filled with four tons of straw-coloured oily wax called spermaceti, from which the whale takes its name. This highly prized substance was used in the 18th and 19th century as fuel, in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and led to the slaughter of thousands of sperm whales. It is thought to be used by the animal to assist in deep diving.

Mouth

Unlike some whale species, the sperm whale is toothed, with a powerful jaw to ingest its squid prey. There are 60 conical teeth, each about 20cm long and weighing 2 to 3kg in the lower jaw. These fit into sockets in the upper jaw. It is these teeth that sailors historically carved as scrimshaw.

A whale’s eyes are disproportionately small and it’s thought that they do not have very good vision. The fact that they don’t need to be able to see in order to function is evidenced by the fact that blind whales have been caught that are clearly in good health and well fed. A whale’s ability to echolocate helps it find food and navigate the oceans with its pod.

Tail

The tail fluke can be 5m from tip to tip and is powerful enough to drive the whale down to depths in excess of 1,000m to find giant squid. It also enables the animal to travel at speeds of around 23 miles an hour through the water.

Reproduction

Sperm whale pods, in the breeding season, operate on a harem system, rather like elephants. One bull will defend his position with a number of females. The calves are born after a 14 to 16 month gestation period and are nursed for about two years. The bonds between the female members of a pod are strong, with the care of the young, sick and injured being communal.

Where in the world?

Stomach

Most of the sperm whale’s diet consists of squid, with the giant squid that’s found at depth being a particular favourite. However, they also eat octopus, shrimps, crabs and some fish. They can eat a huge amount. The beaks of 15,000 squid have been found at one time in just one sperm whale’s stomach. A substance called ambergris, which is pale grey in colour and light enough to float in water forms in the lower intestine around the indigestible squid beaks. This is the second valuable substance to be harvested historically from the sperm whale. It was used in the perfume industry as a fixitive.

Sperm whales are found in every ocean in the world but as they favour deep waters, there are not so many opportunities to see them close to the shore. The best places for good views that don’t involve lengthy trips are: New Zealand – all year round from Kaikoura on the South Island The Azores – where boats go out from the islands of São Miguel, Terceira, Faial and Pico Dominica – all year round in the warm Caribbean waters close to shore where the sperm whales breed Sri Lanka – in the winter months Southern Spain – between April and September

LAND OF THE

Man has been responsible for the loss of hundreds of UK native species. Some are now being reintroduced, but is there a benefit, or is it inappropriate and all too late?

lost WORDS BY PETER LYNCH AND SHEENA HARVEY

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Special report

UK REINTRODUCTIONS

hen an Ivell’s sea anemone died in a small brackish lagoon near Chichester sometime in the 1980s, hardly anyone mourned its passing. No black was worn, no flags lowered, yet it was the very last Ivell’s sea anemone in the world and, with its passing, another species was lost forever. This small aquatic creature with its 12 transparent tentacles would probably never have lit up the world, but the fact that it is no longer with us is just as much of an indictment on people’s apathy to the fate of the world’s wildlife as the extinction of the Javan tiger or the western black rhino. Natural England has catalogued nearly 500 species that have died out in England alone, all but a dozen in the last two centuries. This includes 12 per cent of land mammals, 22 per cent of amphibians and 24 per cent of butterflies – all lost. Species have always come and gone, or at least have

evolved to take account of a changing environment, but since the rise of humankind those changes have often come too thick and fast for many to cope. Apart from the encroachment of agriculture and human settlements, deforestation and poor management of the remaining wild land, other reasons for species’ loss in Britain include persecution of ‘nuisance’ wildlife considered to be threatening livelihoods, and over-hunting for food and leisure. Where we have not been responsible for total extinctions, we have driven breeding populations from our shores, and the relatively sudden loss of some of the bricks in the walls of our ecosystems is now threatening the entire edifice. We can do nothing about the likes of Ivell’s sea anemone, which will never return, but would there be a benefit to reintroducing ancestral species that still exist in other countries? The British government was a

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APRIL 2014 51

The reintroduction of the white-tailed eagle has not always met with approval

signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. The guidelines from that included: ‘Rehabilitating and restoring degraded ecosystems and promoting the recovery of threatened species in collaboration with local residents’. So, the way forward is clear. We reintroduce whatever species we can and we’re back up and running, right?

OBVIOUSLY IT’S NOT THAT SIMPLE. Reintroductions take time, care, and work to ensure that conditions are created to promote the welfare of the species, and not just return it to the very environment that led to its demise in the first place. A recent success story is the short-haired bumblebee. Bumblebees are specialists for crops such as tomatoes, where the pollen is attached very tightly to the anthers of the plants. Only bumblebees can vibrate their bodies and cause the pollen to dislodge. The short-haired bumblebee was declared extinct here in 2000, but a reintroduction project began in 2009 to release queens from Sweden. Farmers, landowners and conservation groups in Kent and East Sussex recreated more than 850 ha of appropriate habitat to promote a self-sustainable population. When it comes to larger animals, however, opinions are very much divided. Even a mammal that would seem faultless has aroused much discussion since proposals were put forward for 52 APRIL 2014

its reinstatement. The Eurasian beaver was hunted into extinction in the 16th century. As a keystone species, beavers have profound and, to some, much missed effects on their environment. In the recent southern England floods there were calls to reintroduce them to the stricken areas as a positive move to aid flood control in the future. Beavers are nature’s water engineers, naturally managing riverbanks, wetlands and forests. Without them, it’s argued, watercourses more quickly become choked with vegetation and wetlands overgrown with saplings. Light levels are reduced, cutting down on plants and tiny pond life, which provide foraging for insects, birds and fish. Gradually, diversity is lessened and an area becomes barren. Beavers clear saplings, build dams, braid streams to create a network of small channels, block ditches and make pools. Studies suggest that uplands with beavers can hold up to 40 times more water, slowing drainage to lower-lying areas and creating productive habitat. The Scottish Beaver Trial Project is the first formal mammal reintroduction in the UK. Simon Jones, the project manager says: “Four families have been released in the Knapdale Forest in Argyll. Some have built dams, and one large pond has been created; hundreds of trees have been coppiced, and wetland wildlife has increased significantly.” The project so far has been deemed a success, and in 2015 wildlifeextra.com

Beavers are nature’s water engineers, naturally managing riverbanks, wetlands and forests

Special report

UK REINTRODUCTIONS Clockwise from far left: European beavers are the subject of reintroduction trials in Scotland; large blue butterflies have returned to south-west England; if brought back, Eurasian lynx could help with controlling deer herds; restored white-tailed eagles have divided opinion

the Scottish government will decide about wider reintroduction. Critics, however, maintain that with modern techniques we can manage our waterways as efficiently as the beaver, and without disturbing the vital revenue- and employment-generating leisure fishing industry. Before the trial began, in 2008, Scottish landowner and journalist Magnus Linklater wrote: “Taking this huge ecological lurch back to the Middle Ages seems perverse, if not mildly insane. Then, Britain was clothed in forests, with wolves, bears and other wild animals roaming the land. Today we have a land cleared for agriculture. “Scottish Natural heritage says that 73 per cent of the people of mid-Argyll support the idea... Quite who constitutes this 73 per cent is unclear. No local farmer, angler, landowner or river manager, as far as I know, has ever supported the project. Anyone involved in the one industry that makes money in the Highlands – fishing – views the imminent arrival of the beavers with horror.” Also viewed with horror in certain areas has been the reintroduction of the white-tailed eagle. Following a successful re-colonisation of the Scottish Highlands and islands of this huge bird, nicknamed the ‘flying barn door’ due to its 8ft wingspan, a suitable English site was identified in Suffolk. However, this met with fierce local opposition – from pig and poultry farmers concerned about young livestock and wildlifeextra.com

gamekeepers worried about predation of game birds, to ordinary people fearful of the effect on seabirds and family pets. Eventually, the potential costs of public consultations led Natural England to withdraw and the project was shelved. If the proposed reintroduction of beavers and white-tailed eagles met with such consternation, what of the idea that lynx, wolves and even bears could be returned?

AN AMBITIOUS PLAN by Paul Lister to create a native animal game reserve along the lines of South African models on his 23,000-acre Alladale estate in Sutherland, has fallen foul of local opinion. Lister says: “We’re the most lethal species on the planet and we’ve lost our connection to wilderness. I bought the Alladale estate in 2003 after visiting the Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa, where an over-farmed landscape has been restored for big game. I wanted to do something similar in Scotland.” Lister has planted more than 800,000 native trees and the estate is actively protecting Scottish wildcat and red squirrels, all of which has been greeted with approval from the authorities and the public. Elk and wild boar were trialled with little comment, but farmers and walkers, among others, have drawn the line at wolves and bears. In an interview last year a determined Lister said: “We’re going to do a feasibility study on the big vision… to have a APRIL 2014 53

Special report

UK REINTRODUCTIONS minimum area of 50,000 acres, have a fence around it, and bring back wolves and bears – two packs of 10 wolves, maybe a dozen bears. We’ll assess the socio-economic and environmental impact it will have. The presence of these predators really changes the landscape for the benefit of nature.” However, Drew McFarlane-Slack of the landowners’ organisation, Scottish Land and Estates, responded with caution: “The reintroduction of big carnivores would require great care and it’ll be many years before we can get to a point where there could be a general release of these.” Possibly a more realistic proposal is the return of the Eurasian lynx. This animal once roamed the whole of Britain but disappeared around the year 500. Advocates claim that lynx would keep down an exploding population of red deer inflicting costly damage on forestry and agriculture. Detractors say that lynx live in forests, not on open moorland where the majority of deer roam. Controversial species aside, there is an awareness that diversity has to be maintained and mistakes of the past put right. Other, smaller and non-contentious reintroductions have been taking place in the last 30 years, like the return of the large blue butterfly to sites in south-west England, where it has taken its place once again as a controller of red ant populations. It is hoped that all these will eventually be of benefit to our natural environment. It might be too late for Ivell’s sea anemone, but time, experience and public opinion will dictate how many other lost species will eventually return to fill holes in our ecosystems.

Above: could the European wolf once again roam our woodland? Left: the short-haired bumblebee, which has made a successful return to Kent and East Sussex

YES

STAFFAN WIDSTRAND

Internationally, several keystone species have been saved and/or staged a remarkable comeback over the last 50 years, thanks to reintroductions by man. Since man usually created the problem in the first place, man has a duty to try to fix it, wherever possible. Without reintroductions, species like the Arabian oryx, Alpine and 54 APRIL 2014

Iberian ibex and European bison, to mention just a few, would have gone extinct. Instead, they are still here. Species like the Lammergeier, and peregrine falcon have come back successfully across Europe, partly because of reintroductions. Same thing with the red deer to Corsica, white-tailed eagle to Scotland and Ireland, red kite to Wales, etc. To me reintroductions are important and very useful wildlife conservation tools. They should be carried out based on good science and following IUCN guidelines, and preferably be part of a greater rewilding scheme. The ecosystems need their keystone species. When those are missing we should bring them back.

www.rewildingeurope.com

JOHN BURTON

There has recently been a lot of talk about reintroducing to the UK extinct species such as wolves and lynx. This, to me, is a very serious waste of our resources, for two important reasons. First the countryside of the British Isles is nothing like it was when such species were roaming freely, several hundred years ago. And secondly, and by far most

importantly, wildlife reintroductions are very expensive indeed if they are to be carried out properly. I believe the limited financial resources available to us for conserving our remaining wildlife need to be concentrated on saving what little we have left. Our wildlife is disappearing from this country at a truly alarming rate. How great that loss is will be something that no one under the age of 30 can truly appreciate. Even though I have been looking at wildlife for more than half a century, I am only too well aware that by the 1950s many UK species were much depleted from the levels that were seen here until the early 19th century.

www.worldlandtrust.org wildlifeextra.com

respected leaders in conservation make IS REINTRODUCTION THE WAY TO GO? Two the case for and against bringing species back

role

Gallery

Award-winning wildlife photographer Florian Schulz reveals an Arctic landscape that is teeming with life in every season, from the awesome might of the polar bear to the delicate grace of the little auk wildlifeextra.com

APRIL 2014 57

RUN FOR IT, KIDS!

(previous page)

A mother polar bear and her two cubs in the Barents Sea in Norway fleeing from a threatening adult male polar bear that had given chase. She gave the cubs a sign and they all bolted, ears pinned back, running for their lives, jumping from ice floe to ice floe and swimming when the distance between the floes was too great. They kept going long after they made good their escape.

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Gallery

SNOW BIRDS Spring is a short season in the Arctic. The sun climbs higher each day and stays longer above the horizon, soon erasing darkness from the Arctic altogether for a time. The warming rays pour over the landscape until meltwater drips from icicles, and cracks develop in the frozen ocean. Millions of migrating birds hurry north to reach their nesting grounds; here kittiwakes gather in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, near a freshly melted opening in the sea ice. wildlifeextra.com

APRIL 2014 59

THREE AMIGOS

(left)

IT WAS DAUNTING.

When I was asked to be the photographer for the companion book to the film To The Arctic, I swallowed hard and had to think about it for a moment. At that point I had been photographing across the North American Arctic for several years, gaining valuable experience, but I knew this would be an enormous undertaking. Documenting the Arctic ecosystem for this book meant facing huge challenges: blizzards and extreme cold, remote locations and changing sea ice conditions, not to mention the millions of mosquitoes present during the summer. I knew it would be intense, but I was driven by my desire to explore some of the most remote Arctic regions and to get to know more of their wildlife. The film project connected with my belief in the importance of creating a visual account of a region that is so severely affected by climate change. The body of work in this book is the result of many expeditions that I undertook over the course of six years, logging a total of 15 months spent in the Arctic. I have journeyed more than 2,500 miles on snow machines across the region; travelled in traditional ways with Inuit guides and their sled dogs for hundreds of miles; visited Inuit communities from Point Hope in Alaska, to Qaanaaq in Greenland; dived and snorkeled in the Arctic Ocean; spent more than 100 hours photographing from airplanes; rafted down Arctic rivers; and camped among tens of thousands of migrating caribou. I revealed an Arctic landscape that is teeming with life in every season of the year. I wanted to offer a glimpse into a world that most people will never see. Together, I hope the images and stories will help us to understand that not only is the Arctic worth saving, it is the place that could save us all.

The wind became so intense in northwest Alaska that the herd of musk oxen almost disappeared behind a curtain of blowing snow, their long hair rippling around them like soft cloth. I tried to get close enough to capture their image before the sun dipped behind the ridgeline. Then something magical happened. Three bulls took off from the group, heading directly toward the setting sun.

FLORIAN SCHULZ is a professional, multi-award-winning nature photography who has dedicated his life to capturing inspiring images of wildlife. A native of Germany, Schulz spends eight to 10 months a year in the field, often joined by his wife, Emil. Visit www.visionsofthewild. com or www.braidedriver.org

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Gallery

LIVING LANDSCAPES What may appear to be a barren landscape from a distance actually vibrates with life. Here, huge colonies of little auk make nests in the steep rocky cliffs of Svalbardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fjords in Norway.

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Gallery

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MIRROR, MIRROR Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to witness polar bear life at such close range for such an extended period. One day I happened to be watching as two cubs in the Barents Sea in Norway wrestled, rolling over the ice like little fur balls. Eventually the cubs calmed down, and one began digging in the ice while the other (seen here) seemed fascinated with his own reflection.

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The

rhythm

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WORDS AND PHOTOS GRAEME GREEN

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life

Trip Report

LIWONDE NP, MALAWI

Liwonde National Park in Malawi lacks big predators, but that only adds to its charms and gentler pace, as it rewards visitors with abundant wildlife â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hippos, elephants and yellow baboons, close at hand and unafraid

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TITUS

IS ON THE MOVE. Danger Chipino, my guide in Liwonde National Park, stops the jeep and points to a recent paw print in the sandy road. “It’s very fresh,” he says. “He mustn’t be too far away, moving towards the river to drink.” Danger’s confident it can only be Titus; Liwonde NP has only one known lion, a solitary male. “I’ve seen him only once,” he tells me as he steers off the road and along the river bank, scouring the trees and long grass. We see fat hippos waddling back to the river, carrying cattle egret passengers. Warthogs, impala and bushbuck graze. An adult baboon sits perched on a tree trunk, like an old man on a bench. It’s a peaceful scene, the animals far too calm to have a lion among them. Titus is either hidden or gone. But to have seen signs of the only lion within the 548 sq km park counts as a good spot. Liwonde NP is Malawi’s most prolific wildlife area, with large numbers of hippo, elephants, crocodiles and around 365 species of birds. The park’s relatively small, condensed – good for wildlifespotting. The Shire (pronounced Shiri) river that runs through the park is the only outlet from Lake Malawi, and the nutrient-rich waters and surrounding riverine swamps, woodlands and grasslands are filled with wildlife. IT TAKES AROUND FOUR HOURS to reach the National Park from the airport in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. It’s evening when we first arrive at the Shire’s edge. Mvuu Camp and Lodge is on the opposite bank, the word ‘Mvuu’ meaning hippo in the national language, Chichewa. Hippos snort, bray and splash on the other side of the river. Cormorants fill the tops of tall palm trees. Noisy Hadeda ibis, known locally as ‘flying vuvuzelas’, travel in pairs across the water as evening’s first stars appears. I find it strange at first, to be in a safari destination without the exciting prospect of spotting big cats. With one lion and a reported three leopard, it’s unlikely. So on my first night here, I try to figure out what it is about Liwonde that draws people here. One wildlife enthusiast who’s been here before describes Liwonde’s ‘gentle rhythm’, which neatly sums it up. Liwonde isn’t as grand or dramatic as other parts of Africa, like the Zambezi or Serengeti, and there are better places to see the Big Five or big cats, including Malawi’s own Majete and Nyika parks. But there’s something special here: a calm atmosphere, rich wildlife and no crowds. On game drives and boat safaris we rarely see another vehicle. The absence of big cats could even be part of the chilled-out feel. “Because there are no predators, that’s why the animals look more relaxed,” Danger suggests as we drive out on the first morning past baobob and mapone trees into palm savannah. “We used to have leopards and lions in the 1990s but many left because of poaching. Poachers hunt for animals like waterbuck and impala that are good to eat. They used wire snares to catch antelope, but often caught lions.” Without those predators, other species have the run of the place

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Trip Report

LIWONDE NP, MALAWI

Clockwise from top: elephants in Liwonde National Park; a pied kingfisher; one of the many elegant impala that roam the grasslands; expert trackers, Patrick Ndalawesi and Ian Kambala studying rhino tracks in the conservation sanctuary

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Trip Report

LIWONDE NP, MALAWI

A cormorant dries its wings on a decaying tree stump in the sun

and immediately out of camp, we see families of trotting warthogs, herds of impala and waterbuck. Yellow-billed storks and noisy Egyptian geese gather at the edges of water pools. Down by the river, the glistening backs of hippos are visible. Elephants move through the long grass to drink at the river – two adults, two infants and a baby. White egrets follow them or ride on their backs. Yellow baboons sit contentedly and groom each other out in the open without fear. “If there were predators, they’d stay in the trees,” says Danger. On an afternoon boat ride, the hippos are so numerous that rather than searching them out, Danger has to steer around them. Small ears, huffing nostrils and pink-grey faces sit above the water, eyes watching us. A toothy scuffle breaks out between two adult females. Wire-tailed swallows weave around and through the open

boat. I spot an egret flitting from hippo to hippo, standing and sometimes surfing on their backs and heads. “When hippos come out, the egrets pick the leeches off and eat them,” Danger explains. “The leeches suck the blood and annoy the hippos, so they’re very happy to have the egrets.” The head of a croc reverses in the water and disappears. “They can stay under for 10 minutes,” says Danger, so we don’t wait. We see plenty of others in the river or basking on the sunny banks. A vervet monkey saunters along the shore. White-breasted cormorants fly overhead, carrying twigs to nests. Fish eagles, Malawi’s national bird, line the river, too, in good vantage points high in the trees. However abundant, though, animal numbers in Liwonde are threatened by poaching. “Poaching is a big problem,” Danger says. “In March, we swept an area and found 280 wire snares in one hour. It’s getting worse. There’s a shortage of rangers. It needs more investment.” WE HEAD BACK OUT IN THE BOAT next morning, the mist still to burn off the river. There’s a hippo chorus, a Piet kingfisher sitting on a low branch and open-billed storks stalking through the marsh. Up ahead, Danger spots a fishing boat with four men in it. Fishing’s illegal in the National Park, but there’s a bigger concern. “Often, they pretend they’re coming fishing but then they go on land and set snares,” says Danger. He phones in the sighting to rangers who protect the park from poachers, then pulls alongside the boat. He discovers there are two other boats and three dugout canoes on the river. On the bank, two teenage boys run. Further downriver, we find

Neighbourhood watch A

For people in the villages that surround Liwonde, the park’s animals are not always a blessing

round 100,000 people live in the villages close to the borders of Liwonde National Park. I stay overnight in one of them – an excellent, incredibly friendly community project at Njobu Village Lodge in Ligwangwa Village (www.njobuvillage.org). A train of children follow as project leader Enock Chidothi shows me around, explaining how people live, growing tobacco, cotton and maize, and how they make mud bricks to build houses. There’s time, after dark, to visit the rowdy village ‘pub’ where people drink local maize beer called sogum. Poverty is a major issue in the region and villagers face many problems, Enock tells me, as we sit talking under the stars. Some of those are connected to living so close to a National Park. “The elephant is the major problem in the village,” says Enock. “It can destroy houses. It

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can kill people. We’ve had two killed in the village. A lot of people are leaving and going to other places where it’s peaceful.” Errant hippos also come into the village, and civet cats try to get at the chickens. But the main problem is the elephants. “Other animals

are easy to chase away,” Enock explains. “With hippos, you make a lot of noise and they run away. The elephants come to the village to get food. Elephants eat a lot, 220kgs in one day. When they’re in the village, people try to chase them but the elephants get angry.” The villagers do see benefits from the National Park, including jobs, selling handicrafts and a school part-funded by Wilderness who run Mvuu Camp and Lodge. Enock wants to see more done, starting with the National Park fence. “It needs to be fixed,” he says. “That would stop elephants coming through. They’re fixing it now but there’s a problem: the government has very limited numbers of workers.” He suggests training local people to fix the fence, creating jobs and helping to keep the villages safe. Sounds like a good idea, if the resources can be found.

APRIL 2014 71

the other boats and canoes. Distrustful of Danger, they work their way into the long reeds and try to hide. “Those will be the ones setting the wire snares from the canoes,” Danger explains. “Those dugout canoes would’ve been working with the boys on the bank. They would have been waiting to transport the meat they caught.” Some of the men pull into the bank and run away, abandoning their boat. Poaching in the park can result in a fine of 25,000 Kwacha and two years in prison; they’d rather lose a boat than be caught. We wait for more than two hours, but the rangers never come. At least 15 probable poachers got away. YOU HAVE TO SYMPATHISE with the situation – the poachers obviously need to eat and earn money, but live animals bring much wider benefits to local communities than their short-term value as meat. Danger’s clearly frustrated. “It’s annoying. You see the problem. You report it to the right person, but nothing happens. No one comes. I care because of the wildlife, but also it brings more jobs and I understand how the community benefits. Children now walk only a short distance to school because of money from tourism.” Poaching wiped out Liwonde’s rhino population. A pair of black rhino from South Africa were re-introduced here in 1993; more have followed and some have successfully bred, taking their number to 16. Last year, though, two were lost to poachers. I go out early next morning with Kristian Gyongyi, a Hungarian ecologist and rhino expert. We are accompanied by 72 APRIL 2014

two expert trackers, Patrick Ndalawesi and Ian Kambala, both armed with rifles, to track rhinos in the park’s 40 sq km sanctuary. “Black rhino are a critically endangered species,” Kristian says quietly, as we hike through the scrub. Rhino horns are highly valued, of course, used for Jambiyas (daggers) in some Middle Eastern countries and for traditional ‘medicine’ in Asian countries, including China and Vietnam. A kilo of ground rhino horn can fetch US $60,000. “All for nothing,” says Kristian, bitterly. “It has no medicinal properties, but in China they think it can cure 200 ailments, from leukemia to impotency. With the growing middle class in China and Vietnam, demand for rhino horn is increasing.” However, the two killed in Liwonde (including a bull) weren’t hunted for their horns but caught accidentally – like the lions, previously – by snares laid by poachers hunting other animals. With the Park having so few, and with some predicting black rhino could be extinct within 30 years, it’s a big loss. “It’s very sad,” says Kristian. “Villagers came in to get impala or bushbuck. But wire snares are like landmines, they kill indiscriminately.” Rhinos are easily spooked so we walk silently through the trees and around waterholes, where there are fresh rhino prints. Patrick and Ian work from almost imperceptible markings, crushed grass or twigs recently munched by rhino teeth. We follow, lose and pick up again the trail of a mother, Namatunye, and her infant, Christopher. Patrick gestures for us to be silent. Through the trees is the large grey bulk of the adult wildlifeextra.com

Trip Report

LIWONDE NP, MALAWI

Fat hippos waddle back to the river, carrying their cattle egret passengers

Clockwise from top left: a hippo and its complement of leech-eating birds grazes by the Shire; a cattle egret takes off from the river; a crocodile makes its way back to the water; Liwonde guide, Danger Chipino secures a poachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boat; vervet monkeys play fighting

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APRIL 2014 73

Trip Report

LIWONDE NP, MALAWI

TRIP ADVISER

COST RATING

INFO: Graeme flew from London Heathrow to Malawi, via Nairobi, with Kenya Airways (www.kenya-airways. com, 020 8283 1818). He stayed at Mvuu Camp and Lodge (www.wildlifeworldwide.com/accommodation/ mvuu-wilderness-lodge-camp) in Liwonde National Park and Njobu Village Lodge in Ligwangwa Village (www. njobuvillage.org), just outside the park. He also stayed at Mumo Island on Lake Malawi (www.wildlifeworldwide. com/accommodation/mumbo-island). For information, visit www.malawitourism.com, or call 0115 972 7250. SAMPLE PACKAGE TOUR: Wildlife Worldwide has a

rhino. “The mother’s always very alert with a baby,” Kristian whispers just a little too loudly and Namatunye bolts. There’s a mighty series of rhino farting noises, thudding feet and breaking branches as the startled animals thunder through the trees. “This is sometimes how it goes, just a flash,” shrugs Patrick. Still, it was an exciting glimpse. There’s no shortage of other animal sightings. On the drive back, we see a herd of more than 100 water buffalo, a family of zebra and three sable with long, gracefully curved horns. Just sitting in the lodge for breakfast, I see a croc basking on the river bank, easily 5m long and with a plump middle, most likely digesting a big meal. Impala, warthogs and monkeys gather at the water’s edge. A monitor lizard moves through the swamp. On an afternoon game drive, we venture out to a big, hollow baobob tree under which David Livingstone is said to have given sermons. We catch an elephant shrew, one of the ‘Small Five’, in our headlights at the start of a night drive, followed by a few mongoose, a duiker (small antelope) and a hippo. The drive ends with a surprise ‘bush dinner’ around a campfire with guests from the lodge and camp. One of my favourite sightings comes on the last evening, nearing sunset. It’s a big male kudu. With a graceful, expressive face and long, artfully curling horns, it’s a strangelooking, fantastical beast, like something from Narnia or a Guillermo Del Toro film. As darkness falls, we pass a family of elephants, three infants among them stuffing their mouths with leaves. Close to the lodge, warthogs sleep bundled together under a tree. I sit outside next to an open fire, under brilliant stars, with the sounds of cicadas, frogs, birds and hippos, all clicking, chirping and honking together to Liwonde’s gentle rhythm. 74 APRIL 2014

7-day Malawi Bush & Beach itinerary, covering major national parks including Mvuu Lodge, with game drives and boat safaris, and Mumbo Island – a beautiful beach paradise. Trip prices from £ 1,955 pp (land only) or £3,125 pp including return flights with Kenya Airways.

GETTING THERE: Kenya Airways (www.kenyaairways.com, 020 8283 1818) fly daily from Heathrow to Lilongwe, via Nairobi. Returns from £686.65. Liwonde National Park is 4-5 hours by car from Tuvalu airport. Kenya Airways also flies from Heathrow to Blantyre. VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK: UK passport holders don’t require a visa

Top: sunrise on the Shire River. Above: a large male kudu with fantastical features, including spiralling horns

TIPS & WARNINGS: Three to five days is about right for visiting Liwonde National Park. Combine a visit with Lake Malawi and other areas of the country, such as Majete NP and Nyika NP. Mosquitoes are not a major issue, but malaria medication is recommended. There’s a risk of contracting the water-borne disease bilharzia in Lake Malawi, though it’s very low in major tourist areas. WHEN TO GO: Between May and Nov. May/June are Malawi’s winter, so temperatures are pleasantly warm and wildlife opportunities good. Oct and Nov can be very hot, around 40ºC, but it’s an excellent time for wildlifespotting, when water sources are fewer. Dec to Mar is the rainy season, a bad time to visit, with roads washed out. TOUR OPERATORS

WILDLIFE WORLDWIDE Tel: +44 (0)845 130 6982 www.wildlifeworldwide.com MAHLATINI Tel: +44 (0)28 9073 6050 www.mahlatini.com TRIP AFRICA Tel: +44 (0)1638 500 133 www.tripafricatravel.com wildlifeextra.com

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APRIL 2014 77

ESSENTIAL PERU Your complete wildlife-watching guide

79 WHY?

Will Gray makes the case for this land of extraordinary contrasts

80 WHERE?

Our guide to Peru’s diverse, wildliferich habitats, from rainforest and Andean mountain to coastal desert

94 WHAT?

We introduce the country’s most captivating and colourful species to look out for by air, land and water

99 HOW?

The practicalities to help you plan your trip, including a classic itinerary

Inca gold Combining ancient history with a cocktail of habitats that are rich in biodiversity, Peru has it all. The first decision any wildlife traveller needs to make is where to start WORDS BY WILL GRAY

80 APRIL 2014

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ESSENTIAL PERU WHY?

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n Amazonian dawn is a primeval thing. When sunrise enflames the forest canopy, the trees seem to exhale visibly. An amber haze rises above the green mantle, while tendrils of mist squirm across rivers and waft through hidden backwaters. Lingerers of the nightshift retreat as a growing crescendo of cries, hoots, whistles and whoops heralds the new day. Clambering from the longboat you walk briskly to a hide overlooking a low, sandy cliff eroded in the riverbank. At first, you notice something strange about the trees. What you originally assumed were leaves are actually parrots – hundreds of blueheaded, orange-cheeked and mealy parrots. Like a stained glass window exploding, they simultaneously take flight and stream overhead, their whirring wings and high-pitched squawks mingling with the sounds of the stirring forest. Covering over 6.5 million square kilometres, the world’s oldest and largest tropical forest looks increasingly ragged in places as logging, mining and ranching take their toll. However, it is still home to a bewildering variety and abundance of species, from pink river dolphins swirling through flooded forests to spider monkeys swinging high in the treetops. Peru’s national parks and reserves encompass pristine swathes of this leafy wilderness in places like Manú, Tambopata and Pacaya Samiria. The overland journey through the Manú Biosphere Reserve – hailed as one of the most species-rich areas on earth – traverses high Andean passes and cloudforest before following rivers deep into the jungle. From rampant Amazonia to rarified altiplano, Peru is a land of extraordinary contrasts. In a two- or three-week trip, travelling west from the Amazon basin, you can experience a cocktail of habitats brimming with biodiversity: tropical rainforest, cloudforest, high-altitude grassland, Andean mountain, coastal desert and Pacific shore. Peru is also ripe for adventure. One day you could be watching Andean condors gyrate through one of the world’s deepest canyons – the next you could be trekking to Machu Picchu, flying over the Nazca Lines or taking a boat trip to the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca. Left: the glorious panorama of the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu, surrounded by wildlife-rich cloudforest and high Andean passes where condors glide. Above: two young scarlet macaws endulge in a playful sparring match

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MY PERU DILWYN JENKINS Author of The Rough Guide to Peru Manu straddles two econiches - epiphyte encrusted cloud forest and lowland jungle - making it genuinely biodiverse. That’s why I took my four young children there. The banks of the Rio Manu were draped in white and black caiman. Macaws flapped noisily across the skyline, limited to a strip between the edges of the forest canopy. After swiping a tarantula off the tent, we slept soundly except for the tinamous birds at 2am, which we mistook for prowling jaguars. In the forest next day, we spotted nine species of monkey, a solitary wild boar and an armadillo bolting head first into its underground home. The finest moment, though, was on a raft in a lake watching giant otters fishing in the golden afternoon light. The Rough Guide to Peru, £9.99 from www.roughguides.com/shop

82 APRIL 2014

Manú Biosphere Reserve Big on biodiversity, Manú is one of the most wildlife-rich protected areas on earth. Half the size of Switzerland, it’s home to 3,000 species of plants, 1,000 varieties of birds, 120 amphibian species and some 200 mammals – including 13 different types of monkey and over 100 bat species. Ultimately, it’s Manú’s rich tapestry of habitats that generates this biological stew. The reserve’s lowland tropical rainforest laps against the Andes like a green tide, merging with mist-cloaked cloud forest and high-altitude puna grassland. Although you can fly by light aircraft straight to the jungle heart of Manú, an overland journey lasting two or three days is far more rewarding. Leaving Cuzco, you traverse the spectacular eastern ranges of the Andes, passing traditional Quechua farmsteads and weaving through swathes of yellow ichu grass. Viscacha, huemul deer and Andean condor may all be glimpsed here. Beyond the final 3,500m pass, however, Manú

begins to throb with life as you descend into the Amazon Basin. The road is not for the faint-hearted – a gravel track etched into steep slopes – but Manú’s cloud forest will have you fumbling for binoculars and pleading your driver to stop every few minutes. A riot of tree ferns, orchids and lichen-bearded limbs, this is the realm of wood-wrens, tanagers, hummingbirds and – Holy Grail of twitchers – resplendent quetzal. A night spent at a lodge in the cloud forest allows you to stake out a hide early the following morning to watch the courtship display of another avian beauty – the Andean cock-of-the-rock. With luck, you may also see woolly monkey and spectacled bear. The road continues to spiral into the Amazon Basin, passing remote settlements like Pilcopata before reaching the Manú and Madre de Dios Rivers. After a leisurely journey downstream by motorised longboat – looking out for flocks of black skimmers resting on wildlifeextra.com

ESSENTIAL PERU WHERE?

While you’re there...

sandbanks – you finally reach one of Manú’s lowland rainforest lodges. Cowering beneath soaring hardwood giants, the Manú Wildlife Center lodge is located near several prime wildlife-watching sites – most famous of which is a riverbank clay-lick where hundreds of blue-headed, orange-cheeked and mealy parrots, plus scarlet and red-and-green macaws gather to nibble mineral-rich deposits – an important supplement in their diets. Manú Wildlife Center has a canopy platform – ideal for spotting skittish primates like emperor and saddleback tamarins, or the rare Goeldi’s monkey. There’s also a hide overlooking a clay-lick frequented by tapirs, while canoe trips on nearby ox-bow lakes often yield sightings of giant river otter, black caiman, howler monkey and three-toed sloth. This is also prime habitat for the hoatzin – a flamboyant bird with a blue face, maroon eyes and rufous crest. Also known as the stinkbird, it has a distinctive odour due to aromatic oils in its diet of leaves. wildlifeextra.com

The stepping-off point for journeys to Manú, Cuzco is also the staging post for trips to Machu Picchu. The easiest way to reach the fabled Lost City of the Incas is to take a four-hour train ride from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes and a bus from there to the ruins (left). For those up to the challenge, however, the 43km, four-day Inca Trail is an iconic adventure. Be sure to spend a few days in and around Cuzco itself. Located at the head of the Sacred Valley, it’s just a 30-minute walk from the impressive Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman where rocks weighing in excess of 100 tonnes form perfectly crafted walls. There are more outstanding Inca ruins at Pisac, 30km north of Cuzco, although it’s the famous local market (right) that draws crowds. You’ll find many tour operators in Cuzco offering whitewater rafting, mountain biking, hiking and horse-riding trips.

Clockwise from far left: a greybreasted sabrewing hummingbird; yellow-spotted river turtles that abound in the rivers and lakes of the Amazon Basin; looking down on the Manu cloud forest; a caiman provides a handy landing spot for a butterfly

APRIL 2014 83

ESSENTIAL PERU WHERE?

A colony of sea lions conducting their noisy disputes on the shores of the Ballestas islands

MY PERU PAUL GODDARD MD of Peruvian Secrets I woke to the sight of the Pacific at dawn from the window of my hotel room. I went to the harbour where boats depart for the National Marine Reserve of the Ballestas Islands, home to the world’s greatest concentration of marine wildlife. After a 30 minute trip we got to the islands and our first encounter with Humboldt penguins, surely the cutest small bird on the islands. Then I had sight of the bird I had come so far to see, the blue-footed boobie. I couldn’t believe how close you get to the wildlife, even sea lions sunning themselves. After many more close encounters we headed back to Paracas following the stunning sight of an unbroken line of cormorants 2m above the sea for as far as the eye could see. www.peruviansecrets.co.uk

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Paracas National Reserve & Ballestas Islands Nourished by the cold, nutrient-rich upwellings of the Humboldt Current, Peru’s Pacific coast teems with life around the rocky, crinkle-cut peninsula of the Paracas National Reserve and nearby Ballestas Islands. These are some of the world’s richest seas, squirming with over 300 species of fish – from anchovy to marlin – plus a wealth of other marine life, such as octopus, squid, green, leatherback and hawksbill turtles, sea otters and sea lions. Several species of cetacean have also been recorded here, including bottlenose and dusky dolphin, Burmeister’s porpoise, pygmy killer whale and humpback whale. What makes this oceanic wildlife extravaganza all the more remarkable is its contrast with the shore – an arid landscape of austere sea cliffs and bleak pampas,

frequently lashed by gales and sandstorms. In the local Quechua tongue, paracas means “raining sand”. That’s not to say, however, that this stretch of Peruvian coastal desert, 265km south of Lima, is devoid of life. Far from it. Andean condors can often be seen pirouetting over Paracas on the lookout for carrion; desert foxes roam the tidal banquet of the strandline, while sea lions haul out on the peninsula’s coves and beaches. It’s the birdlife, however, that steals the show. Paracas National Reserve is an important over-wintering site on the bird migration route known as the Pacific Americas Flyway, which stretches from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. During the northern hemisphere winter, more than 20 species of migratory shorebird find food and APRIL 2014 85

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Top: the barnacle-encrusted and guano-covered rocks of this protected coastline are home to thousands of seabirds. Centre: a Pacific iguana. Left: pelicans and cormorants share a vantage point over a sea that’s cooled and plentifully supplied with nutrients by the Humboldt Current that passes along the length of Peru

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sanctuary on the mudflats of Paracas – it’s not uncommon to see large flocks of sanderling, western and semipalmated sandpipers. Stop at the visitor centre just inside the reserve’s boundary and you can often spot Chilean flamingos tip-toeing through a nearby bay. Further around the peninsula, a clifftop lookout provides a lofty vantage over the Pacific where vigilant birdwatchers might spot pelagic species such as Buller’s shearwater, Cook’s petrel and the endangered Peruvian diving petrel. Blackbrowed, southern royal and waved albatrosses can also be seen, cartwheeling over the ocean rollers on wingspans of 3m. Paracas National Reserve is easily visited on a guided bus tour from the nearby town of Pisac. Most wildlife enthusiasts, however, combine this with a boat trip to the Ballestas Islands, home to hundreds of thousands of nesting seabirds. Top ticks include the Inca tern – dapper in its steely grey plumage, crimson bill and white moustache plumes. There are also raucous colonies of Peruvian boobies and pelicans, red-legged cormorants and Humboldt penguins. Although landing is prohibited, boat drivers will get you close enough to the action to experience the sights, sounds and smells of a giant seabird colony. You’ll soon appreciate why these islands were once harvested of copious deposits of guano.

As well as birds galore and the chance to spot cetaceans and sea lions, a boat tour around the Ballestas Islands offers a wonderful view of the Candelabra – a 180m tall geoglyph carved into a slope on the Paracas Peninsula. The extraordinary design is thought to date from around 200 BC and may have been created as a navigational marker as it’s visible from 20km out to sea. If the Paracas Candelabra lights your imagination, you’ll be dazzled by the Nazca Lines further south. Light aircraft flights allow you to see these huge and mysterious designs etched into the desert 22km north of Nazca. There’s a 100m wide monkey, 50m spider, killer whale, hummingbird, geometrical shapes and an ‘astronaut’, with hand raised in greeting. Scientists ponder the meaning of the spectacular desert doodles, with theories of astronomical calendars, giant running tracks and weaving designs.

GUY MARKS Director of Tribes Travel I’ve spent a lot of time in the Amazon basin, seeing some amazing wildlife. Peru offers some of the most interesting and biodiverse parts of this incredible ecosystem. The deeper you get into the rainforest and the further away from modern civilisation and human influence, the better the experience. Sloths are one of my favourites, perhaps because they don’t run away like all the other mammals do! They just carry on snoozing or moving ever so slowly from one tree to the next snacking in slow motion on bright red kapok fruits. If you can get to the confluence of two rivers there is often an abundance of food for fish and these in turn attract pink river dolphins. I did a double take the first time I saw them. They make me smile. www.tribes.co.uk

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Pacaya Samiria National Reserve A vast mosaic of seasonal flood forest, lakes and lagoons, Pacaya Samiria covers an area of some 20,000 square kilometres and embraces the drainage basins of three river systems – the Samiria, the Pacaya and the Yanayacu-Pucate. Rising in the easternmost corner of the reserve, the Amazon River begins its journey of over 3,000km to the Atlantic Ocean. The largest reserve in Peru, Pacaya Samiria protects an intriguing corner of the Amazon where life revolves around the annual ebb and flow of floodwaters. In this watery wilderness, often referred to as the ‘Mirrored Forest’, you’ll encounter pink river dolphins swirling between the trunks of towering ceiba trees, while caiman lurk amongst rafts of giant lily pads or bask on floating logs. High and dry above the floodwaters, the rainforest canopy is all-of-a-fidget with foraging troupes of tamarins and squawking mobs of gaudy macaws. Sloths, snakes, tree

frogs, turtles, butterflies, kingfishers, toucans… the wildlife in Pacaya Samiria is prolific, with over 1,000 species of plants recorded, 500-plus species of birds (over 60 per cent of Peru’s total), 132 mammal species, 240 varieties of reptiles and 60 amphibians. In addition to pink river dolphins, star species include anaconda, giant river otter and hoatzin. To get the most from a visit, it’s important to understand how the seasons work. The high-water period runs from December through to May. Around March or April, water levels have generally risen by up to 7m, swelling the maze of rivers, creeks and lakes, and allowing expedition cruises to navigate deeper into the rainforest in search of wildlife. The flip side, of course, is that walking trails are also submerged during this time of year. If you want to explore the jungle on foot, visit between June and November when you

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MY PERU

ESSENTIAL PERU WHERE?

While you’re there...

can base yourself at accommodation such as the Pacaya Samiria Amazon Lodge (in the reserve’s buffer zone) and venture out on both walking and canoeing trails. Neither season is necessarily better for seeing wildlife. You stand an equally good chance of sighting pink river dolphins during high or low water. Ultimately, it boils down to how much you want to witness the spectacle of an Amazonian flooded forest. Riverboats to Pacaya Samiria operate from Iquitos. Two of the longest established are

Delfin, which runs two vessels – one with four luxurious cabins, the other with 14 large guest suites – and Aqua Expeditions with its 12- and 16-cabin cruisers. Accompanied by expert guides, you explore the flooded forest using the mothership’s small, stable skiffs. River kayaks, meanwhile, allow you to nose about in backwaters and ox-bow lakes, paddling close to wildlife without the noisy distraction of an outboard engine. Other activities include caiman spotting at night and piranha fishing.

Reached by plane or boat, Iquitos is an urban oasis on the west bank of the Amazon. You can hire canoes to nose about among the stilted huts of the waterfront district of Belén or walk to Plaza de Armas (above) where grander houses date from the rubber boom of the 1890s and early 1900s. Just 4km from the city, Lake Quistococha has canoes for hire, as well as a two-hour walking trail through rainforest. A 20-minute boat ride from the Iquitos suburb of Bellavista, is the Amazon Animal Orphanage and Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm at Padre Cocha, which rescues orphaned wild animals and rears several species of both butterflies and moths, including the giant blue morpho and the banded swallowtail (above right). Further afield, Allpahuayo-Mishana Reserve protects a swathe of white-sand jungle, home to endangered species, including two primates – the equatorial saki and collared titi.

Clockwise from far left: a pink river dolphin surfaces using its paddle-like flippers which move in a circular direction; neotropical cormorants and great white egrets; a saddle-back tamarin relaxes on a liana

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Here: Laguna Churup with the snow-covered Churup summit in the background;. Below: a spectacled bear

Huascarán National Park

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A biosphere reserve and world heritage site as well as a national park, Huascarán offers spectacular hiking in the Cordillera Blanca, the world’s highest tropical mountain range, with the chance of spotting Andean condors, vicuña and, if you’re particularly lucky, puma and spectacled bear. No fewer than 27 peaks soar to over 6,000m in this towering wilderness, with Huascarán dominating the dragon-back skyline at 6,768m. Eight hours drive northeast of Lima, Huaraz is the starting point for excursions into the national park. Some areas, such as the Llanganuco Lakes – sitting pretty in turquoise at the foot of Huascarán – can be visited on bus trips. The numerous trekking options range from easy day hikes to challenging circuits lasting a week or more and traversing high passes. One of the most popular short treks takes you to the base camp of 5,947m Alpamayo – a graceful, ice-fluted pyramid considered by many to

be the most beautiful mountain in the world. The hike lasts three days, reaches a maximum altitude of 4,300m and – like all treks in Huascarán National Park – is best tackled during the Andean summer, between May and October. Before venturing into the mountains, it’s important to spend a day or two acclimatizing in Huaraz. May is a good month to see the spectacular flowering spikes of the Puya raymondi bromeliads. Reaching up to 10m in height, each one contains more than 3,000 flowers – wait patiently and you may spot a giant hummingbird sipping nectar from one of these monumental inflorescences. Torrent ducks – the males in striking black and white plumage, the females with orange underparts – often patrol fast-flowing mountain streams. These plucky swimmers use their stiff tails to combat the current while hunting for aquatic invertebrates. APRIL 2014 91

ESSENTIAL PERU WHERE? Clockwise from here: macaws and green parrots flock to a clay lick on the Tambopata River; boat rides on the river take you close to the mud terraces known as colpas; the extremely impressive Harpy eagle would be the spot of a lifetime

Although it lacks the range of altitudes and head-spinning biodiversity found in Mánu to the west, Tambopata’s Amazonian mélange of old-growth jungle, tropical savannah, palm swamps and ox-bow lakes still supports more than 670 bird species and 174 different kinds of mammal. Combine the more remote BahuajaSonene National Park, which borders Tambopata to the south, and Bolivia’s Madidi National Park to the west and you have one of the finest areas of protected jungle wilderness in the world. A 25-minute flight from Cuzco, Puerto Maldonado is the departure point for boats to various lodges in Tambopata National Reserve. August through to April is the best time to visit, when activities ranging from rainforest walks to boat trips and canoeing are available. Tambopata’s famous clay licks attract six different types of macaw, along with a staggering 17 species of parrot and 92 APRIL 2014

parakeet, and Tambopata Research Centre is close to one of the largest. The reserve also supports a healthy population of the formidable Harpy eagle – striking terror through the jungle canopy where it preys on monkeys and sloths. Hoatzin are frequently seen around ox-bow lakes, while keen birdwatchers can strike up a tally of a dozen species of tinamou – shy, ground-dwelling birds skulking about the forest floor. Tapir are frequently sighted in Tambopata, and it’s not uncommon to spot that feline A-lister, the jaguar. You might be fortunate enough to glimpse a giant anteater in the savannahs alongside the Heath River, but you will need to venture into the remote grasslands of Bahajua-Sonene to stand even a slim chance of sighting the rare maned wolf. Some lodges, such as the Heath River Wildlife Centre, operate nighttime caiman-spotting trips.

Tambopata National Reserve

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Ones to watch Peruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most spectacular species to look out for by air, land and water

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Giant otter

Pteronura brasiliensis Measuring up to 1.5m in length, the giant otter is the largest member of the mustelid family. A powerful swimmer with webbed toes and a flattened tail for propulsion, it can often be seen writhing through the shallows of Amazonian backwaters and ox-bow lakes, hunting for fish, freshwater crustaceans and other prey. Giant otters typically form extended family groups of up to 10 individuals. They are highly social animals, travelling, feeding, playing and sleeping together. Well-hidden dens are excavated in riverbanks.

Spotting tip: On boat trips, look out for the sudden splash and ‘flick’ of a tail from a diving otter. You may hear this highly vocal species before you see it – barks, snorts and whistles are just some of its characteristic calls. A good sighting should reveal distinctive cream spots and patches on the chin, throat and chest.

Andean condor

Vultur gryphus Few wildlife encounters in South America are more stirring than the sight of an Andean condor soaring into view – its broad, finger-tipped wings framed in the rugged maw of a canyon or silhouetted against the crystal-like snow giants of the Andes. These giant vultures, weighing 11-15kg, have a wingspan of up to 3.2m and rely on updraughts from mountains and coastal cliffs to remain aloft. With a wildlifeextra.com

barely a flap, they can travel huge distances, scouring Peru’s alpine slopes and desert shores for the remains of anything from whales and sea lions to vicuñas and sheep. Andean condors have even been known to plunder seabird colonies for eggs. Like many species of vulture, they have bald heads. You can tell the sexes apart by the male’s white neck ruff and overall larger size. Threatened by habitat loss and persecution by farmers, the plight of the Andean condor is not helped by its slow rate of reproduction –

reaching sexual maturity at around five or six before typically laying a single egg every two years. Spotting tip: Cruz del Cóndor, a mirador located at the deepest point in the Colca Canyon, offers spectacular views of Andean condors. Get there by around 9am to watch the birds riding morning thermals. They often spend the middle of the day scouring the upper slopes for carrion before returning to the canyon later in the afternoon. APRIL 2014 95

The tapir’s constantly questing snout is perfect for sniffing out food and smelling danger Tapirus terrestris What they lack in the glamour stakes, tapirs more than compensate for with some curious anatomy and behaviour. Little changed over 35 million years, these ‘living fossils’ have splayed toes to spread their 250kg bulks and prevent them from sinking into soft, muddy ground – a useful feature for a mammal that prefers dense riverine forest. The tough, bristly mane is thought to give jaguars something to sink their teeth into without causing real harm, but tapirs actually have a far more inventive way of escaping predators. That constantly questing, ever-twitching extensible snout is not only the perfect appendage for sniffing out food and smelling danger, but it also makes an impromptu snorkel. When attacked by a puma or jaguar, a tapir thinks nothing of diving into the nearest river and swimming out of harm’s way with just the tip of its trunk protruding above the surface. Spotting tip: Tapirs rarely venture far from water, so always scour riverbanks while on boat trips. You can improve your chances of a sighting, however, by spending the night at a hide overlooking a clay lick such as the one at Manú Wildlife Centre.

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South American tapir

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Andean cock-ofthe-rock

Rupicola peruvianus Resplendent in viridian and black plumage, the male cock-ofthe-rock struts his stuff in the cloudforests of the Peruvian Andes. Hopping from branch to branch, bobbing, bowing, whirring, clucking and chasing off rivals, these flamboyant members of the Cotinga family (which also includes bellbirds and umbrella birds) use communal leks to woo females. Once mating is over, the female is left to build a nest – usually under a rocky overhang – and rear the young on her own. The Andean cock-of-the-rock feeds mainly on fruit, although insects and even frogs and lizards are also occasionally taken. Spotting tip: Take the overland journey to Manú Biosphere Reserve, spending a night in a cloudforest reserve en route, and you can often observe the courtship behaviour at a cock-of-the-rock lek from specially positioned hides.

Emperor tamarin Saguinus imperator Allegedly named after Wilhelm II, but the German emperor’s whiskers were not a patch on the flowing white, curly-ended tashes sported by these diminutive but handsome primates. Emperor tamarins only measure around 25cm in length – double that if you include their orange-coloured tails – but they are well worth seeking out on a rainforest walk or from the

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vantage of a canopy lookout. Like many primates, they are attracted to fruiting trees, but emperor tamarins also feed on nectar, tree sap and insects such as katydids. Emperors invariably give birth to twins, carried jockey-style on the back of the father. Spotting tip: Emperor tamarins often move through the forest in mixed groups with saddleback tamarins – responding to each other’s alarm calls if a predator is detected nearby.

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Spotting tip: Several rainforest lodges in Peru have easy access to hides overlooking avian clay licks. Get there early – ideally around dawn – settle down with some binoculars and enjoy the show.

Scarlet macaw

Ara macao A mass flock of macaws fussing around a riverbank clay lick is not only one of the iconic sights of the Peruvian rainforest but a world-class avian spectacle right up there with Antarctica’s penguin colonies or the Rift Valley’s flamingos. Like fairy lights on a Christmas tree, the clay lick and overhanging vegetation become daubed with bright colours as hundreds of macaws, parrots and parakeets take part in the noisy ritual of geophagy or ‘earth eating’ – a behaviour shared by several species of birds and mammals to ingest certain minerals lacking in their diets. As well as scarlets, you’ll see red-and-green, blue-and-yellow, green-winged and chestnut-fronted macaws, along with yellow-crowned and orange-cheeked parrots and dusky-headed and cobalt-winged parakeets.

Amazon river dolphin

Inia geoffrensis A dolphin might be the last thing you expect to see in Peru’s flooded forests – but the Amazon river dolphin (also known as the pink river dolphin or boto) is right at home in this ‘aquatic treescape’. Its lack of a proper dorsal fin and sinuous movement (assisted by unfused neck vertebrae) help it to avoid snagging on submerged branches. Keen echolocation also plays a vital role in it navigating the often murky, silt-laden waters, as well as homing in on prey. A slender beak lined with touch-sensitive bristles is ideal for poking around in mud and places where river turtles, freshwater crabs, armoured catfish and other dolphin delicacies tend to lurk.

Spotting tip: A river cruise in Peru’s Pacaya Samira National Reserve offers one of your best chances for spotting Amazon river dolphins. Their colour ranges from pale grey to dusky pink and although they are usually seen alone or in pairs, it’s not unheard of for you to find them in pods of up to 20.

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Factfile

Classic itinerary

COUNTRY FACTS ■ Location: western South America ■ Capital city: Lima ■ Terrain: arid coastal plains with fertile valleys in the west, high mountains including the Altiplano plateau in the middle, and tropical rainforest in the east ■ Population: around 30 million ■ Most widely spoken language: Spanish, with native Quechua spoken by a quarter of the population ■ Useful words: hola = hello; adios = goodbye; gracias = thank you; por favor = please; si = yes; no = no ■ Currency: the nuevo sol, subdivided into centimos; many outlets accept US dollars ■ Time zone: GMT -5 hours ■ Flight time from UK: around 15 hours ■ Visas: UK citizens do not require a tourist visa and can stay for a maximum of 183 days ■ Vaccinations: chicken pox; hepatitis A; tetanus; typhoid

Iquitos

Pacaya Samira National Reserve

Huascarán National Park Huaraz

Manu National Park

CLIMATE The coastal strip has high humidity, moderate temperatures, low rainfall but dense fog; the mountains are cooler, less humid and wetter; the rainforest has high rainfall and high temperatures. In much of the country the day and night temperatures can vary tremendously, for example from 24ºC to -3ºC. WHEN TO GO Peru has diverse regions which are pleasant at different times of year. On the coast, winter is between April and October and summer between November and March, although the north can have rain in November/ December. The best time to visit the mountains and the rainforest is between April and October when there are sunny days, cold nights and not much rain. Peak holiday time is June to August when places tend to be much more crowded. TIPS & WARNINGS ■ Because temperatures can vary a lot, it’s best to have

some warm clothing for evenings. Avoid unmarked taxis and exchanging currency from cambistas in the street. The sale of condor feathers is illegal, although they can be found in local markets, and you cannot bring coca leaves or coca tea into the UK. ■ If travelling in the mountains, altitude sickness could be an issue so avoid fast ascents and doing anything strenuous for the first few days and drink plenty of bottled water – tap water is not safe to drink. Avoid heavy meals and alcohol. If symptoms of headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, insomnia and lack of appetite are severe or persist for more than 24 hours, you must descend to at least 500m and consult a doctor. wildlifeextra.com

DAYS 8-15 Manu and Tambopata ■ Clay licks ■ Tapirs and scarlet macaws

Lima Machu Picchu

Paracas National Park DAYS 1-4 Paracas ■ Amazing seabird colonies ■ Sea lions

Puerto Maldonado

Cuzco DAYS 5-7 Cuzco and Machu Picchu ■ Andean condors ■ Ancient Inca ruins

Tambopata National Reserve Lake Titicaca

A 15-day tailor-made tour to Paracas’ coastal plain, rainforest at Manu and Tambopata, and Andean heights at Machu Picchu ACCOMMODATION

■ TAMBOPATA

■ MANU

Wasai Lodge – wooden cabins and bungalows in typical regional style, most with river views. www.wasai.com/tambopata-amazon-hotel-lodge.html

Manu Wildlife Center – a 44-bed lodge located on the Madre de Dios River in pristine rainforest. www.manuwildlifecenter.com ■ PARACAS La Hacienda Bahia Paracas – a luxury hotel with good views of the bay, well-placed to explore the area. http://hoteleslahacienda.com/en/hotel-bahia-paracas ■ PACAYA SAMIRIA Pacaya Samiria Amazon Lodge – eight comfortable cottages built in the style of the local architecture and which have terraces with panoramic views. www.hatuchayhotelsperu.com/pacaya-samiria ■ HUASCARAN Llanganuco Mountain Lodge – on the edge of the NP and with great views of the three highest peaks. http://llanganucomountainlodge.com

MORE INFORMATION www.peru.travel TOUR OPERATORS ■ Reef & Rainforest

Tel: +44 (0)1803 866 965 www.reefandrainforest.co.uk/peru ■ Peruvian Secrets Tel: +44 (0)1248 852 089 www.peruviansecrets.co.uk ■ Tribes Tailormade Travel Tel: +44 (0)1473 890 499 www.tribes.co.uk APRIL 2014 99

Theknowledge Your wildlife travel survival guide

HOW TO SKILLS VOLUNTEERING BOOKS DVDS KIT LIST PHOTO WORKSHOP How to...

Navigate using nature Age-old navigation techniques will get you on the right track if you pick up the clues that are all around you, says Adam Logan of Woodland Ways

hether it’s night or day, mountain top or forest deep there are secret signs and indicators just waiting to be deciphered by the willing navigator. Modern advances in detailed cartography and direction finding technology have opened up a world of adventure to groups of people who would otherwise quite literally not know which way to turn. However this same technology can, for some people, have the effect of disengaging them from the physical environment they are living in. Here are just a few of the techniques you can employ for ascertaining your direction when you are out and about in the woods and fields of the UK.

Techniques The main culprits responsible for plants and trees appearing the way they do are the sun and the wind. Take this photo (left) for instance. What can you see? Grass, clouds and sun… but you can get so much more from simple observations. This photo was taken a little after midday GMT so the sun you can see is a little west of south. How do I know that? Here is your first navigational technique to remember: at midday GMT (13:00 BST) the sun is due south of us here in the UK. Now observe how the majority of the grass shoots in the photo appear to be

Left: studying how a hedge grows can reveal a number of clues to the way it can act as a natural compass to guide you

combed over to the left. In any given area of travel it pays to familiarise yourself with the predominant wind directions for that time of year and then train yourself to observe the patterns that these winds have on the natural landscape. In this particular example the grass had been combed in a north easterly direction by a south westerly wind. The two photos (above), displayed side by side, show the two sides of a hedgerow. Again the photo was taken around midday. The brightly lit one, therefore, must be the south facing aspect of the hedge, while the shady side must be facing to the north. Now look again and see how the growth on the southerly side is literally bursting out of the hedge to find the sunlight. Both sides of the hedge were trimmed at the same time and look at the difference! Notice the absolute profusion of rose hips from the dog rose on the warm, light southerly side compared to the slim pickings on the cooler, shady northerly aspect. Fruit and, earlier in the year, flowers favour the lighter, warmer, south facing side. Lastly, take a look at the photo (right) of a mature English oak tree. Notice how the canopy is crowding over to the right and has more horizontal and thicker branches on this side. Trees can be used in this way as an

indication of south but care must be taken to ensure that the tree receives light from all directions and it is not just growing that way because it is the only way it can get light. For example, a mature oak on the northerly border of a woodland will likely have the majority of its branches pointing north as this is the direction from which it receives the greatest amount of light. Go for old broad leaved trees out in the fields and take averages of four or five of them to get the best indication of which way is south.

Conclusion Using the natural world around us to navigate requires that we pay very close attention to patterns and asking questions as to how those patterns have come about. Do not rely on one indicator and set off at a jog! Take your time and cross reference as many features of the landscape as possible. It is true you won’t be able to navigate to the accuracy of a 10 figure grid reference when you get a helping hand from the natural environment but you’ll be surprised how accurate you can become! www.woodlandways.co.uk

Have you any natural navigation tips? Write and tell us about them by emailing editorial@wildtravelmag.com wildlifeextra.com

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Skills

Improve your bushcraft and understanding of the natural world with the help of our expert mini-guides

DIY guide to...

Making a coracle Coracles are traditional floatable crafts, says Jude Walker from the Coracle Society. They’re fun to make and use, provided you don’t mind getting wet… Step one Take the plank which will form a seat and screw three legs (in a line) to the underside. Put one in the centre and the other two each side, about 7in away from the centre leg.

Step two Run an ash lath from one end of your seat to the other – so it makes half a circle or hoop.

From the centre of the seat to the centre of the back rail should be the same distance as the centre of the seat to the centre of the front rail, from 22in to 26in depending on the size of coracle required. Fix the lath with a screw or thin, broad-headed nail (drill a hole first for the nail to avoid splitting the wood). Do the same the other way, to result in a full circle with the seat across the middle.

Step three Add two or three extra laths to the hoop, then make a lattice work of laths woven under and over and running front-to-back and side-to-side. Start with the one that goes under the seat legs, until you have a whole frame. Keep the laths around 2 to 3in apart.

Step four Screw the legs to the main lath from below. Attach four corner-to-centre laths about 2ft long to strengthen the structure.

Step five Cover with a pond liner, turning the cloth over the top rim and securing with staples. Fix more ash laths around the rim, outside and inside, to cover up the stapled cloth.

Step six Try it on a shallow pond or quiet river. Don’t forget your life-jacket and a change of clothes!

Animal rescue

MATERIALS NEEDED ■ A plank of wood, ideally measuring 3ft x 8in x 1in ■ Three wooden legs (each about 11in x 2in x 2in ■ 30 ash laths, 6ft in length, 5/16in thick, 1¾in wide, made from knotfree sawn ash. They should be sawn to size after bending into place. Use while green and still flexible. You should be able to source these from your local coppice worker (see www.coppice-products.co.uk) ■ Pond liner about 6ft by 4ft ■ 100 screws or nails (3x15mm)

Helping a fledgling

Gemma Hogg from the RSPB offers her advice on what to do and, crucially, what not to do, if you find a fledgling all alone

t’I sco spring and summer to find young birds sitting on the ground or hopping about without any sign of their parents. The young of most familiar garden birds fledge once they are fully feathered, but before they are able to fly. These fledglings spend a day or two, sometimes longer,

survival, and isinnormally the worst thing you can do. However, if the bird is in a dangerous, exposed location it makes sense to move it a short distance to a safer place. Birds have a poor sense of smell so handling a fledgling won’t cause its parents to abandon it, but be sure to leave it within hearing distance of where it was found. www.rspb.org.uk

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nwhile their flight o on the ground m feathers complete their growth. However tempting, interfering with a young bird will do more harm than good. Fledglings are extremely unlikely to be abandoned. The parents will just be away collecting food - or are hidden from view nearby, keeping a watchful eye. Taking a fledgling from the wild reduces its chances of long-term

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Volunteering