Wildtravel 07/14

WILDTRAVEL July 2014 I £3.99

Discover the world’s most amazing wildlife

Ultimate dive destinations Join us on a tour of the world’s best waters for amazing marine wildlife

Take me there

Into France’s wild wetlands Discover the water-loving birds, wild boar and rare horses of the Camargue

Trip report

Condors in the Andes

We head to high-altitude in search of the soaring superstars of Ecuador

Deserted Down Under Meet the unique and endemic wildlife of Lord Howe Island in Australia

BIG GAME

BOTSWANA

Plan your dream safari with our 22-page guide to Botswana’s wildlife-watching hotspots

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WILDLIFEEXTRA.COM

WILDLIFE WEEKEND: PHOTO WORKSHOP: CORNWALL SHARKS BADGERS IN BRITAIN

SPECIAL REPORT: RWANDA RISES AGAIN

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Contents Features

28 Trip report: the Andes Mountains, Ecuador c

50 Special report: wildlife tourism in Rwanda c

Mark Stratton scales to high-altitude in search of condors, hummingbirds and the newly discovered olinguito among the peaks of The Andes Mountains

Twenty years since the genocide that ravaged Rwanda, Philip Briggs looks at the wildlife-watching opportunities in this fledgling tourist destination

38 Take me there: The Camargue, France c Dominic Couzens offers his guide to the rare and regal wildlife that can be found in France’s famous wetland

Essential Botswana 80 Why? Anthony Ham makes the case for choosing Botswana for your dream safari trip

82 Where? c Introducing the best of Botswana’s wildlife-watching areas, from the Kalahari 58 Ultimate dive destinations c to the Okavango Delta Strap on your scuba tank and mask as we take you on a tour of the world’s 94 What? best locations for marine wildlife, from The Big 7 species to look out for during Micronesia to Malta and Gozo a safari across the country’s national parks, reserves and conservancies

48 Anatomy of a red-eyed tree frog

68 Trip report: Lord Howe Island, Australia c

100 How?

Discover how this iconic amphibian is perfectly adapted to life among the trees in tropical rainforests

Stella Martin discovers the unique and endemic wildlife thriving on this remote volcanic island off Australia’s east coast

Everything you need to know before you go, including country facts, a suggested itinerary and recommended lodges

All cover stories marked with a c

JULY 2014 3

CONTENTS Regulars

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12 Wild world We review the latest images from the world of wildlife, from Puerto Rico to Indonesia, as well as the latest conservation news and wildlifewatching tours

22 Wild UK c Inspiration for wild days out across the UK, from spotting sharks in Devon and Cornwall to lesser horseshoe bats in Gwynedd, Wales

103 The knowledge c Our experts explain how to set up a camera trap and how to age a whale, plus wildlife photographer Drew Buckley explains the secrets of photographing badgers

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114 Column: Confessions of a wildlife traveller Mike Unwin offers his thoughts on how best to deal with the disappointment of not seeing the wildlife you set out to find

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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WELCOME Contributors

Dominic Couzens Dominic offers his guide to the wildlife to be found in the Camargue in southern France

The olinguito lives in the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador

Say hello to the olinguito

COVER IMAGE: © BILDAGENTUR-ONLINE/MCPHOTO-SCHAEF/ALAMY. ABOVE: © AMMIT/ALAMY

In August 2013 an American zoologist by the name of Kristofer Helgen took the world by surprise when he announced the discovery of the olinguito, a new species of carnivorous mammal, after finding the bones and skin of a specimen that had been hidden away in storage at a museum in Chicago, USA. If identifying the first new species of carnivore in the Western hemisphere in 35 years wasn’t remarkable enough, Helgen and a team of scientists then used clues from the specimen to establish where they might have come from and found them alive and well in a number of protected areas, ranging from central Colombia to western Ecuador. Looking like a cross between a house cat and a teddy bear, the olinguito is the smallest member of the animal family that includes racoons, weighing 2lb (900g) and measuring 14in (35cm) in length, with a tail of 13-17in (33-43cm).

So is it possible for the likes of you and I to see an olinguito in the wild? That was the question we put to writer Mark Stratton, who duly headed off into the high-altitude cloud forests of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador in search of this intriguing new species along with other local specialities. To find out how he got on, turn to page 28.

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

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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

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Philip Briggs Philip has some thoughts on what the future holds for wildlife tourism in Rwanda

Stella Martin Stella discovers the unique and endemic wildlife on Australia’s Lord Howe island

Drew Buckley Professional photographer Drew shares his tips for photographing wild badgers

On the cover...

Cover image: an African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Botswana

JUNE 2014 7

InBox

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

Winning letter Down memory lane Thank you for quickening my pulse with your article on Kidepo Valley in the June edition. It sounds as if the place retains the magical isolation that it had when I was last there, over 40 years ago.

We travelled the same route as the writer though we set off in a battered Ford Cortina Estate from Gulu, some 50 miles from his start point. The route is indeed a rough one and I would add a warning to avoid ‘black cotton soil’ if the ground is wet.

You’ll be stuck in there waiting for the next dry season!

In those days there was no accommodation, just four areas of

flattened grass where you could pitch a tent. The only building was an old wooden shack selling drinks, with a petrol pump nearby. They had a

visitors’ book and when we went, in December 1970, fewer than 100 people had been there and signed it that year.

Follow us on Twitter: @wild_travel

As you say, the herds of buffaloes are massive; far bigger than any I’ve seen elsewhere. One of my best memories is of seeing a dense mass of them slowly and mysteriously part because a rhino was walking straight through them. My other indelible memory is rounding a corner and seeing the air shimmering with astonishing colours.

Dozens of bee eaters were flying in and out and catching insects.

So, from what you say, there’s still plenty of game and it’s just as remote, but now with somewhere comfortable to stay? I don’t think I can resist that.

Michael Godfrey, Middlesex

Strange sightings This is a picture of a leucistic male Baltimore oriole I took in Anola Manitoba, Canada. It has a bright yellow body and white wings with just a tiny bit of black on them.

There was no black on its head or body as normal male orioles have. It was doing fine and hanging around with six other normal-coloured orioles.

Sandra Searle, via email Editor writes: Have you had any unique wildlife sightings? Let us know at editorial@wildtravelmag.com

Guiding light I truly agree with the Guiding Principles article by Mike Unwin in the May 2014 issue (Confessions of a wildlife traveller). A knowledgeable guide can certainly make a lasting impression on you and add something special to your holiday. Kenny (above) and Elliott were the perfect teachers during a six-night stay in Botswana. They not only knew the land like the back of their hands, but also knew how important it was to the traveller to have a good experience and finish the day with “sundowners” in the bush. Perfect day, perfect holiday.

Helen Gee, via email 8 JULY 2014

wildlifeextra.com

InBox 1

Your photos This month’s selection of photos from our Flickr site 1 Magical stripes: this artistic image of a zebra was taken by Chanin Green 2 On the breach: David Ashley took this great shot of a humpback whale rising out of the water off the coast of Busselton in Western Australia while he was on a whale watching trip 3 Curious onlooker: photographer Richard Taylor submitted this atmospheric image of a nosy fallow deer in the Forest of Dean 4 Who’s watching who? Paul Wild catches the eye of a leopard chilling out in a tree, on a morning drive in the Okavango Delta, Botswana 5 That’s mine: Roy Balfour captures a lesser black-backed gull making a tremendous bread save

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

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Winning image

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InBox Your stories Bearly acknowledged A little while back my wife and I were driving a small campervan around the Yukon and Alaska.

From Homer we took a trip over to the Katmai National Park with a naturalist in order to look for bears on the beach digging for clams.

Katmai is where many tourists go to see bears fish for salmon, but earlier in the year they also forage for clams and you can move freely among them.

After watching the bears we moved inland and spotted a large chocolate-coloured bear feeding on sedges in a pool. This animal was initially about 80m from us but then started to come directly towards us. There was no point in trying to leave as we were in 30cm of water and would never have had time to get away if it turned

nasty. Our naturalist told us to just stay still and the bear would ignore us.

Sure enough, it got to within 3m of me, as you can see in my picture (right), and then moved on past, taking absolutely no interest in our little party. It did look me squarely in the eye from time-totime, but otherwise it just carried on feeding.

I continued to take pictures throughout, but what I didn’t realise was that another visitor had spotted our situation and had taken a number of shots of us, all huddled together and getting wet knees, facing the friendly bear.

Bob Brewer, via our Flickr page Bob is on the left of the group taking shots of the bear. The naturalist is on the right – the furthest away!

Allo, allo “I caught this little fella sticking his head out for a chat,” says Lisa Bull, who has done her bit for the next generation by hosting blue tits in her nest box.

Bugboozled I spotted this insect [below] on my fire pit lid under a table and have never seen anything like it – can you tell me what it is?

Anja Williams, via email Editor writes: It is a cockchafer, or May bug, and is normally seen flying on warm evenings between May and July. It was once common throughout Europe but extensive use of pesticides caused a considerable decline in numbers during the 20th century. Better pest control regulation from the 1980s has seen numbers increase again.

From the website Wild boar culling debate Let the boars self-regulate their population (Trending, Wild UK, June issue). It is typical human arrogance to believe that we need to control numbers of any wild animal or plant that displeases us in any way. That seems to apply in particular to species which hunters like to hunt, and there is irrational prejudice against species which are being reintroduced, or even worse against non-natives. The term alien invader is over-used as a not-so-subtle ploy to win over populist opinion. Those who like to advocate culling are cleverly inventive in finding problems which don’t really exist. Either that or they simply exaggerate.

Iain Gibson, via the website What do you think? Join the debate at http://www. wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Forest-of-dean-boar.html

Getting in touch EMAIL: editorial@wildtravelmag.com PHONE: 01242 211 080 FACEBOOK: www.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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wildlifeextra.com

Kenya

© ROBYN PRESTON/BARCROFT MEDIA

Claws encounter A roaring male lion takes a swipe at a camera as it defends the bloated carcass of a hippo in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. Don’t worry though – no one was injured in the process! This terrifying image was captured by New Zealand-born photographer Robyn Preston using a GoPro camera mounted on a hand-held extendable monopod. The lion photographed is part of a formidable coalition of four males, known locally as Notch’s Boys. While lions are capable of taking down larger prey such as hippos, it is unusual for them to do so because they come with a smaller margin of error, putting the lions at risk of injury if they miscalculate the attack. Crazy photographers, on the other hand, are less problematic!

Wildworld Latest visions from the world of wildlife

Indonesia

An insect’s view

© YUDY SAUW/BARCROFT MEDIA

Are you looking at me? This beautiful macro photo of a wasp was taken by photographer Yudy Sauw at his home studio in Tangerang, Indonesia. As one of a series of images he has taken using a technique known as focus stacking (a digital processing technique which combines multiple images in order to extend a photo’s apparent depth of field), his extreme close-ups show the beauty and complexity of the insects’ microscopic world. Other photographs in the series include images of metallic jumping spiders, moths during metamorphosis and the bizarre triangular face of the praying mantis.

Wildworld

Wildworld South Africa

Hitching a lift

Š EM GATLAND/ CATERS NEWS AGENCY

How did the rhino cross the wildlife reserve? Suspended upside down from the bottom of a helicopter of course! This image shows the dramatic moment a four tonne white rhino was airlifted to a new enclosure in the Zululand region of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa as part of an annual relocation programme conducted by the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Game Capture Unit. Pairs of rhinos are relocated every year in the hope of ensuring the strength of future blood lines. The location of their new home has not been revealed to protect them.

China

Brushing up

Puerto Rico

Pet protesters A snake enthusiast holds up his carpet python during a demonstration by the owners of exotic pets outside the Capitol building in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Exotic pet owners oppose proposed amendments to the New Wildlife Act of Puerto Rico law which will create a list of “harmful and poisonous species” and make it illegal to keep them at home.

© CHINAFOTOPRESS/GETTY IMAGES, RICARDO ARDUENGO/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

The words hippos and dental hygiene don’t usually appear in the same sentence, but workers at Qingdao Forest Wildlife Park in the Shandong Province of China are doing their best to change that.

Using a pool brush, they clean the hippos’ teeth twice a week during the summer months – and the hippos have clearly started to appreciate the extra attention.

Shorts New species

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

Nepal

Death blow

Poachers spoil Nepal’s fine record of rhino conservation

WAKATOBI

FLOWERPECKER

Zoologists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered a previously unrecognised bird species in a biodiversity hotspot in Indonesia. The bird, which has been named the Wakatobi flowerpecker (Dicaeum kuehni), is found only on one small chain of islands in south-east Sulawesi. Despite looking similar to the grey-sided flowerpecker from mainland Sulawesi, the Wakatobi flowerpeckers are significantly larger and genetically distinct.

The Sulawesi region, despite boasting an incredible number of bird species found nowhere else in the world has been poorly studied up to now.

It was one of South Asia’s outstanding success stories: the Nepalese Army turning the tables on illegal wildlife hunters and making them the hunted.

Now Nepal’s proud run of more than two years since any poaching activity was detected in the country, has come to an end with the recent killing.

The slaughtered animal was found in the buffer zone around the Chitwan National Park. In 2002, there were an extimated 37 rhinos killed in the Park and overall numbers were said to be as low as 375. Following the government’s enforcement efforts, numbers had risen to more than 500.

Becci May, Regional Manager (Asian

species) at WWF-UK, said: “This sad case highlights that poaching is still a serious threat in Nepal. WWF in Nepal continues to work with the government, enforcement agencies, conservation partners and the local communities to tackle this horrific crime.”

Meanwhile, in the US, a wildlife trafficker named Zhifei Li was sentenced to 70 months in prison for smuggling rhino horn, demonstrating that the fight against wildlife crime is a global effort.

22,103 By numbers

now on the Red List of species threatened with extinction

United Kingdom

BUTTERFLY FLOATS IN A rare and spectacular butterfly may be attempting to colonise the UK. The large Continental swallowtail (Papilio machaon gorganus) resembles a tropical species with dramatic yellow and black markings and distinctive streamer-shaped tail.

The Butterfly Conservation society has revealed that a dozen adults have been spotted across Sussex in the past few weeks, having apparently successfully overwintered in the UK. Last year’s hot, sunny summer saw the largest

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Continental Swallowtail invasion since 1945 with adults laying eggs in gardens in Hastings, Eastbourne and Chichester. They were also seen in other south coast counties including Suffolk, Kent and Dorset.

The UK’s cold climate makes it difficult for the butterfly to survive the winter, but the recent rise in numbers suggests last year’s breeding must have been successful.

The UK boasts its own subspecies of swallowtail (Papilio machaon britannicus) that, despite being our largest native species, is smaller and darker than the Continentals. It is restricted to the Norfolk Broads.

The warming climate raises the possibility that the striking Continental swallowtail may become a UK resident in the near future.

wildlifeextra.com

© NEIL HULME/BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION, SHUTTERSTOCK

SOURCE: IUCN - INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

Wildworld USA

Novel fundraising effort George R R Martin, author of the popular book and TV series Game of Thrones, has chosen a unique form of fundraising to support the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico, USA. The sanctuary rescues and provides a safe haven for wolves and wolfdogs that have been kept in captivity and ill-treated. Martin and his wife have been supporting it for a number of years.

In order to raise at least $500,000 (£300,000)

to improve the sanctuary habitat, Martin has offered two people the opportunity of being written into the next installment of his fantasy books in return for a donation that will entitle them to an entry into a prize draw.

Bidders can donate as little as £5 in order to enter. The two winners and a friend will be flown out to Martin’s home in New Mexico to spend the day with him and visit the wolf sanctuary. They can choose what type of person they will be in the book, with the guarantee from the author that their character will definitely meet a grisly death! www.prizeo.com/prizes/georgerrmartin/ a-wolf-sanctuary-tour-and-helicopter-ride

India

New tours

PANGOLIN PLIGHT

Arctic reindeer

Experts brainstorm how to protect lesser-known species

Wildlife experts, scientists and policy makers met recently in India to brainstorm the steps needed to protect the future of some of the country’s lower-profile species.

Every year in India, hundreds of pangolins, or spiny anteaters, lizards and tortoises are poached, an estimated 700,000 birds are illegally trapped, and about 70,000 tonnes of sharks are caught, yet these levels of exploitation are rarely reported.

“While the threat posed by the illegal wildlife trade to some of India’s most iconic wild animals, such as the tiger, are well publicised,

many of the lesser-known species are also rapidly vanishing,” said Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Head of TRAFFIC in India.

“Pangolins are highly threatened, yet their plight is barely publicised in conservation circles. Others, like the monitor lizard, mongoose, star tortoises and spiny-tailed lizards also need immediate attention.”

Micro-life

Pygmy marmoset This is the world’s smallest monkey that weighs just 140g (5oz) at its heaviest. Its body is up to 15cm (6in) in length with a tail a third as long again. These little tree-dwellers live in the rainforest of Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Equador and northern Bolivia where they eat fruit, insects and tree sap. They bite a hole in the bark and wait for the sap to ooze out so they can lap it up. Because their tiny size makes them a tasty mouthful for a whole range of predators, from wild cats to harpy eagles and even some snakes, they have evolved to be speedy and smart. They also have a very flexible neck so that they can turn their heads almost backwards to keep an eye out for threats.

A summer journey in Arctic Norway hiking with hundreds of migrating reindeer, staying in a luxury woodland lodge by the Lygnenfjord, with top cuisine, an outdoor hot tub and views of the mountains.

Cost: from £1,645 (4 nights, all inclusive) When: from now until the end of September www.taberhols.co.uk

Glamping in Bali Combine two nights in a unique tented rainforest retreat at Sang Giri with five night in the eco-friendly Menjangan Resort hideaway in the mountains of Jatiluwih. Enjoy treks in the rainforest and birdwatching expeditions.

Cost: from £1,685 (flights, transfers and bed & breakfast) When: all year www.westernoriental.com

‘Herping’ safari Go herping (looking for reptiles and amphibians) in the Upper Amazon Basin and Ecuador on a ‘100 Species Photo Safari’ for amateur scientists and photographers. Expert guides find exotic toads, frogs and vipers.

Cost: from £2,900 (13 nights all inc, but excluding flights from UK) When: 12 September 2014 destinationecuador.com/100species-photography-safari.html JULY 2014 21

Wildlife weekends

Sharks in the southwest A

triangular fin scythes through the sea surface then slips under the boat. At a sign from the Cornish skipper, you make the final micro-adjustment to your mask, then slip through a hatch into salty water.

Beyond the sturdy steel bars that now surround you, a blue shark rushes your way before turning parallel a metre or so from your saucer-like eyes.

Cage-diving in Cornwall? With sharks?

This has to be a joke, right? Not in the slightest. In 2005, seeking to convert shark-based tourism from fishing to watching, the Shark Conservation Society pioneered offshore excursions to look for blue shark. Applying techniques familiar to anyone who has sought great white sharks in South Africa, a purposebuilt cage is lowered beneath the waves, and snorkelers slip into it. Scent is trailed in the water, sharks approach, and thrilling (yet safe) encounters unfold.

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Between June and September blue sharks hunt off the north coast of England’s western-most county. This striking shark is a couple of metres long, deep blue in colour and disarmingly large eyed. July’s calm waters offer the best chance of connecting, with seven trips in 10 succeeding. To see sharks in their element, take an all-day cage-diving boat trip from Newquay or Bude. Once 25km into deep water, the crew churns out the bait (or‘chum’: usually mashed fish). A shark may be distant, but its highly attuned sense of smell detects the offering. Initially nervous, the shark approaches... then vanishes. Eventually, it trusts that the boat’s occupants do not intend to snare it and approaches closely.

At this point you slip into the cage.

Should you fail, the typical supporting cast would constitute a ‘red letter day’ in its own right. Most trips come across basking shark, another summer

speciality of southwestern waters.

Britain’s largest fish is a gentle giant: many exceed 5m in length. There is also a decent chance of marine mammals: pods of short-beaked common dolphin bowriding breathtakingly, while harbour porpoise or grey seal swim more sedately. Whenever you chum, check your wake for seabirds such as British storm-petrel or even Sabine’s gull, enticed by the free lunch.

Once back on terra firma, head 90 minutes southeast to the fringes of Dartmoor for a magnificent mammal experience. The mass emergence of bats at dusk from subterranean slumber is a common component of wildlife documentaries from far-flung places. Yet, like the shark trip, you can witness this wonder close to home.

Arriving in Buckfast before dusk, take a terrace table at the Abbey Inn, sundowner in hand. Unwind by scanning the River wildlifeextra.com

© JANE MORGAN/ALAMY, DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY, JAMES LOWEN/JAMESLOWEN.COM

Make your way to Cornwall and Devon in July for blue shark, basking shark, greater horseshoe bat, southern damselfly and silver-studded blue, writes James Lowen

WildUK Clockwise from left: the magnificent blue shark; the rare and elusive southern damselfly; a silverstudded blue butterfly shows its underwings; a greater horseshoe bat roosting till dusk

PRACTICALITIES

Dart for dipper, grey wagtail and otter. A few minutes after sunset greater horseshoe bats emerge from nearby caves.

Hundreds (some say thousands) of bats stream past before gradually dispersing.

Thereafter, try the footpath by Buckfast Church, where the bats hunt.

Greater horseshoe is not Buckfast’s only bat. Daubenton’s bat is strongly associated with waterbodies, routinely skimming the River Dart surface for insects. You should also see pipistrelles.

After such a mammoth day, treat yourself to a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast: there’s only one site on today’s itinerary, and it does not require an early start. Your destination is the East Devon pebble-beds, specifically the hilly heathland at RSPB Aylesbeare Common.

Flora here is dominated by three heathers (ling, bell and, in damper terrain, crossleaved heath) and two species of gorse, often parasitised by the red-stemmed, white-flowered dodder.

Dartford warbler and stonechat scold from the prickly bushes, and the heathers are embellished with silver-studded blue, wildlifeextra.com

a refined butterfly that repays close examination. On open, sandy tracks, look for grayling (a master of camouflage). In wooded areas, prepare for a hefty silverwashed fritillary to fly past.

In the mires, you should see the tall, yellow-flowered spikes of bog asphodel.

Look for the glutinous sap of roundleaved sundew and the pin-striped pink flowers of bog pimpernel hugging the ground.

Keeled skimmers pose on the marshy margins and the gargantuan golden-ringed dragonfly hangs still on gorse bushes, but you need to look carefully for small red damselfly and the globally threatened southern damselfly. Try sedge-fringed seepages around Five Ponds in the west of the Common.

Alert to the abundance of insect prey, the odd hobby may power overhead.

There’s a good chance of finding a sunbathing adder or common lizard (the latter often basks on fenceposts). But, above all, relax amid the wildlife of a southern heathland, one of England’s most treasured, picturesque and biologically valuable habitats.

WHERE TO GO: For blue shark trips, travel with a member of the Cornwall Cage Diving Operators Association, which works to a code of conduct to minimise disturbance to the sharks.

Most trips depart Bude or Newquay. Try Atlantic Diving in Newquay (Tel: 07860 927 833; www.atlanticdiver.co.uk). Trips are subject to calm seas).

Buckfastleigh bats are best watched from The Abbey Inn on Buckfast Road (SX743667; www.theabbeyinnbuckfast.co.uk). Leave the A38 at the B3380 junction, following signs to Buckfast Abbey; turn right after the bridge to find the pub on the right.

RSPB Aylesbeare Common (SY058896; Tel: 01395 233 655; www. rspb.org.uk/aylesbearecommon) lies 13km east of Exeter. From M5 junction 30 take the A3052 east; 800m after the B3180, use the car park at the junction with the minor road to Hawkerland. Five Ponds lies on the footpath towards Halfway Inn, west of the Common.

SUGGESTED BASES: In Cornwall, Newquay and Bude. In Devon, Buckfastleigh. The Beach at Bude (Tel: 01288 389 800; www.thebeachatbude. co.uk) is a boutique hotel decorated in New England seaside style.

FLEXIBILITY: Blue sharks frequent Cornish waters from June to September, basking sharks from May to October.

Greatest numbers of greater horseshoe bats are on warm evenings, June to September. Heathland dragonflies are best early June to early August.

Silver-studded blue flies end of June to late August.

RECOMMENDED READING: Purchase James Lowen’s 52 Wildlife Weekends at the special price of £7.79 (inc free UK p&p) by visiting www.bradtguides. com and using the discount code WT52. Offer expires 19/02/15

JULY 2014 23

WildUK Spotter’s guide

Sea shells

© PREMAPHOTOS/ALAMY, PHILIP SMITH/ALAMY, ARCO IMAGES GMBH/ALAMY, IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY

Heading to the beach this July? Kate Wilson from the Marine Conservation Society picks her six favourite shells to look out for on the sand

European cowrie Trivia monacha This beautiful gem is distinctively shaped, with striped ridges and three dark brown spots. The shell has a polished appearance, with colour ranging from pink to purple to brown. The apertural side is white and flattened, with the narrow opening running along the whole length of the shell. They may be found anywhere in the UK, usually among rocks, but they are not very numerous. This small shell is no bigger than your little fingernail.

Size: About 1.2cm

Painted topshell Calliostoma zizyphinum Also known as the common topshell, this resembles an old-fashioned spinning top. It has a striking cone shape with stripes of purple and white and it can have up to 12 or 13 whorls. The body of this snail is as colourful as its shell, flecked with purple, red and brown.

A pure white morph is also sometimes seen.

The painted topshell can be found on seaweed-covered rocky shores, under stones on the lower shore, and down to 100m.

Size: About 2.5cm high

Thick topshell Monodonta lineata Also known as the toothed winkle, this pretty shell is grey-green in colour with distinctive purple zig zags, and has up to six whorls.

Mother-of-pearl can be seen inside the opening, and the top of the shell is often worn away, appearing a pearly yellow. A “tooth” can be seen on the inside of the mouth opening.

This shell can be found on rocks on the middle shore in south west England and Wales. It grazes on algae and seaweeds.

Size: About 2.5cm high

Common wentletrap Clathrus clathrus The word wentletrap originates from a Dutch term meaning spiral staircase. These animals are famous for their intricately geometric shell architecture. Found on the south and west coast of Britain, this species is often discovered in water down to 80m but migrates to rocks on the lower shore during the spring and summer to spawn. The shell has conspicuous diagonal stripes. Live specimens have only rarely been observed.

Size: Up to 4cm high

Common Whelk Buccinum undatum Also known as a “buckie”, this is a large shell, usually white or pale brown, with seven or eight whorls. Its oval aperture, or opening, tapers to a siphonal canal. It is actually a voracious carnivore that feeds on other molluscs, such as oysters and scallops, and lives on sand and mud down to around 100m. The large, round and spongy egg masses of the common whelk are often found washed up on the shore.

Size: Up to 8cm high

Dogwhelk Nucella lapillus Also known as the Atlantic dogwinkle, this species prefers rocky shores. The shells are plain white or grey, sometimes patterned with dark brown spirals, and occasionally even green, blue or pink. Their shape varies widely due to the degree of wave action. Dogwhelks began to disappear when tin-based paints were used on boats – these poisonous paints have now been banned following a campaign by the Marine Conservation Society.

Size: About 3cm high

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JULY 2014 25

Clockwise from left: The rugged hillsides around Cadair Idris; a pied flycatcher in the ancient woodland; lesser horseshoe bat

Tour of Britain

Cadair Idris Nature reserve Part of Snowdonia NP in Wales, this varied habitat of ancient oak woods and craggy hillsides hosts migrant birds, young hares and lesser horseshoe bats Wildlife

The Dôl Idris parkland at the foot of the Tal-y-llyn side of the mountain contains the Cadair Idris Visitor Centre and is the start point of the Minffordd Path, a steep route of three miles which leads to the summit of Cadair Idris mountain in about two and a half hours. By contrast, there is the gentleness of the park and its small lake, and an 8,000-year-old oak woodland. This gives way to natural grasslands and boulder-strewn mountainside. Together they provide a landscape of picturesque walks and a wide variety of mammals, birds and invertebrates.

Former buildings on the estate have been turned into a tea room and Visitor Centre. There you’ll find an exhibition about the area’s wildlife. In the roof space is a roost for rare lesser horseshoe bats which can be viewed through a live infra red camera link.

Passing through the remains of the Idris Estate arboretum leads to a u-shaped valley and wooded gorge through which a stream flows. In summer this leafy haven attracts a good number of small migrant birds. The ferns and lichens that grown here are also worth a look, not only for their beauty but also for small insects that abound in the humid conditions.

If you continue on the Minffordd Path to climb the mountain itself, make frequent stops to search the skies for peregrine falcons – a good excuse for a breather on this tough walk! On the crags watch out for the flash of bright red from the legs and beaks of choughs. You might also catch a glimpse of ravens, or perhaps the rare ring ouzel.

History Cadair Idris translates as Seat of Idris and local folklore tells two stories, one of a national hero who was killed by the Saxons around 630AD and the other of a giant called Idris who lived on the mountain and threw the stones that now lie as boulders on the lower slopes at other giants. It’s said that ferocious hounds of the underworld circle the peaks and that anyone who sleeps at the top will descend either a poet or a madman.

The Idris Estate, where the Visitor Centre can be found, once produced ginger beer and other soft drinks. These, having been supplied to Queen Victoria, earned the name Idris Royal Table Waters.

In the late 1880s Thomas Idris, founder of the company, bought the land with the profits made from his £215,000 business.

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Seasonal highlights The woodlands that border Cadair Idris host pied and spotted flycatchers, redstarts and wood warblers in summer. On the shores of the small lake there should be young grey wagtails that have fledged in the past month or so., and there are dippers in the stream. On the grasslands and heather hillsides young hares will be bounding around exploring their world, and stoats will be hunting among the rocks.

NEED TO KNOW LOCATION: Just into the junction of the A487 and the B4405, between Dolgellau and Tywyn.

VISITOR CENTRE AND TEA ROOM OPENING: Times vary so check on www.facebook.com/ tytecadairetearoom or by calling 01654 761 505 PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Bus services 30, 32 and 34 [Dolgellau-Tywyn-Machynlleth] drop close to the entrance.

Contact Traveline Cymru on 0871 2002233 or visit www. traveline-cymru.org.uk FACILITIES: visitor centre with exhibition on local wildlife; tea room; extensive parking (£2.50 for 4 hours, £5 for all day); toilets; 2 short circular paths accessible to wheelchairs. Find a map of the site at www.naturalresources wales.gov.uk/out-and-about/ visitor-centres/cadair-idrisnational-nature-reserve Be advised that the route to the summit of Cadair Idris is rough, steep and can be slippery.

CONTACT DETAILS: Natural Resources Wales, Tel: 03000 653 000 wildlifeextra.com

© CW IMAGES/ALAMY

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A new report from The Wildlife Trusts raises concerns over the impact of the planned HS2 railway. We asked representatives from both sides to comment

© ANDREW FOX/ALAMY

STEPHEN TROTTER Director of The Wildlife Trusts, England We have been assessing the impact of the HS2 Proposed Route on wildlife and local ecological networks and believe the current proposals fall short when it comes to environmental protection and mitigation. The Government’s own recent Environmental Audit Committee report generally agrees with our view.

Our analysis suggests that around 500 wildlife sites will be affected by the proposed route (Phases 1 and 2). Ten Sites of Special Scientific Interest (the very best of our wild places), 153 Local Wildlife Sites and 42 proposed Local Wildlife Sites will all be directly impacted, including at least 41 ancient woodlands and nine Wildlife Trust nature reserves.

We are concerned that the full impact of the route on wildlife has not yet been properly evaluated by HS2 Ltd and that there are big holes in the proposed mitigation.

Our green vision makes the environmental, social and economic case for these impacts to be properly addressed. It shows that it’s feasible to create around 15,000 hectares of new, interlinked wild places established along the entire length of the route that people can walk, cycle through and enjoy. Environmental restoration on this scale could be achieved with less than 1% of HS2’s overall budget of £42bn and a Cost Benefit Analysis, undertaken by researchers at Newcastle University, shows the benefits of restoring nature and providing access will outweigh the costs.

HS2 would be England’s biggest infrastructure project in modern times – so if it goes ahead, we think it should aim to be England’s biggest nature restoration project too.

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PETER MILLER Head of Environment, HS2 Ltd When people think of HS2, words like ‘regeneration’, ‘infrastructure’ and ‘capacity’ may spring to mind – words that might not immediately be linked to the environment and wildlife. However, we devote considerable time, effort and resources into measures that will protect the environment.

HS2 is an ambitious and complex project. It will provide much-needed transport and connectivity that will assist the regeneration of regions and provide new housing, jobs and skills. However, we also appreciate our essential responsibility to the environment. I lead a team dedicated to protecting the rural and urban areas along the route, including our natural habitats and woodlands.

Our Environmental Statement sets out plans to plant more than two million trees along the first part of the network. Our aim has been to design the project so that, wherever practicable, any impact on habitats and protected species is avoided or reduced.

We have carried out extensive surveys of the bat colonies present along the route, planning measures that will allow bats to fly safely across the line.

Defra has acknowledged that our aim of ‘no net biodiversity loss’ is a challenging one. Where habitats are lost we will seek to create new ones, and move soil from ancient woodlands to new sites.

Our plans consider the effect upon people and where they live and work. We have struck the right balance between these matters, route engineering and cost, and those relating to the natural environment, learning from the best practice on projects such as HS1 and Crossrail.

BLISSFIELDS MUSIC FESTIVAL 3-5 July Winchester, Hampshire You can party the night away and raise vital funds for conservation at this event, as the Born Free Foundation has been chosen as the 2014 charity partner of this music festival. www.blissfields.co.uk

NATIONAL EXHIBITION OF WILDLIFE ART 2014 18 July-3 August Gordale Garden Centre, South Wirral This art exhibition features a great variety of original wildlife art works from both professional and amateur artists. The event will raise money for a conservation charity. www.newa-uk.com

ECOVER BLUE MILE 19-20 July Weymouth Fancy a watery challenge? This two-day event, which raises money for the Marine Conservation Society, features an open-water swim, stand up paddleboard and kayaking programme, aquatriathlon and corporate team challenge. www.thebluemile.com JULY 2014 27

Higher

education Often overlooked in favour of the country’s headline-grabbing wildlife hotspots, Ecuador’s Andes are home to a host of high-altitude stars, including condors, hummingbirds and the recently-discovered olinguito

28 JULY 2014

Words by MARK STRATTON

Trip Report

ECUADOR’S ANDES

A condor glides on a thermal in the clear skies above the Andes

I

was battling breathlessness, cold, driving rain and tussocky paramo grass on a 45 degree incline, when six of the condors roosting on the 4,300m-high cliff in Antisanilla Reserve launched skywards before I could even steady my camera. With scarcely a wingbeat they spiralled higher as I struggled to stay upright.

My sense of humour was failing fast.

© KETTIG-TRAVEL/ALAMY

One of them remained behind, though, hunkered down on a ledge with his pink head and white Elizabethan ruff nuzzled warmly within his black and white-flecked plumage. It was my last chance to get up close.

I say last chance because this was the second of two days’ dedicated condor-watching during a whistlestop tour of Ecuador’s Andes. Ecuador may be renowned as a biodiversity hotspot, but the majority of tourists focus their wildlife-watching excursions around its Amazon basin or the Galápagos Islands.

However, the country’s most grandiose scenery can be found in the national parks ranged along its explosive Andean spine, named the Avenue of Volcanoes.

Between 1,500m and 5,000m altitude there is a huge diversity of habitats, ranging from dewy cloud forests to flower-studded tundra grassland, where hummingbirds feed on nectar beneath the glacial snowlines of frozen volcanoes.

I WAS HOPING TO SEE TWO KEY SPECIES within this range that possess radically contrasting life stories. The first of these – the Andean condor – has been revered in indigenous art here since 2500BC, as a symbol of rebirth. It features on the Ecuadorian national flag, while the second – the olinguito – is the country’s Johnny-come-lately. The world’s newest carnivore was first described to the public in August 2013 after a zoologist uncovered the skin and bones of a specimen held in storage at a museum in Chicago, before tracking its continued existence back to the Ecuadorian cloud forests.

Antisanilla lies two-hours north of Quito, ensconced in the loftier echelons of the troposphere above 3,500m. This newly

JULY 2014 29

created 3,000ha reserve is private farmland purchased by Ecuadorian conservation society, Fundación Jocotoco, in order to protect the most significant roosting site of the country’s threatened condors, which number only 50 in total. I joined expert Dr Hernan Vargas of the Peregrine Fund for a two-day field trip into Antisanilla, the best place in Ecuador to see these great vultures.

From Hacienda Guaytara, which has simple overnight cabanas, we hiked into an immense U-shaped valley, squelching across sodden moorland. Vargas explained he is studying the condors’ ecology, breeding habits, and genetic health; inbreeding in particular concerns him when there is such a small population. However, quick fixes are hard to come by and he could only speculate why their numbers are declining: “They seem to have plenty of food scavenging dead cattle,” he said. “The main factors behind their low numbers are probably human interference and high juvenile mortality”. In 2013 alone three condors were either poisoned or shot.

© MARK STRATTON

THE VALLEY IS SO BROAD AND DEEP that even when using a spotting scope the clan of seven condors roosting on a ledge were only visible as black smudges, sheltered against the icy rain. “It’s not Felipe’s group,” said Vargas as he identified three adults, two sub-adults, and two juveniles. But then Vargas knew this already.

Last August an exhausted juvenile condor, Felipe, hit the headlines when he was rescued and fitted with a satellite-transmitter to provide valuable information about the birds’ behaviour. Because of this Vargas knew that he was 100km south in Sangay National Park, along with the rest of his clan of eight. “Felipe is foraging in Cotopaxi and Sangay national parks, moving on after three to five days,” he explained. “This amazed us because we thought Antisanilla’s condors remained resident here, but new data shows they scavenge over great distances; sometimes travelling 100km in a day.” Data transmissions also help identify previously unknown roosting sites.

We hiked to the base of the condor roosts to collect shed feathers for genetic analysis of this family group. After watching six of them peel away from the cliffs the one remaining condor finally took umbrage at our disturbing his lie-in. Momentarily freefalling off his ledge he arked skywards just over our heads. I ducked instinctively as my horizon momentarily filled with his 3m-wide wingspan.

The irate condor then proceeded to buzz us three times before briefly perching on

The country’s most grandiose scenery can be found in the national parks ranging along its explosive Andean spine 30 JULY 2014

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Trip Report

ECUADOR’S ANDES

HUMMINGBIRD

HOTSHOT

A beginner’s guide to photographing Equador’s most famous birds

© MARK STRATTON

a ledge 20m away, giving us time to confirm he was male: denoted by the flaccid coxcomb crowning his wrinkled bald head. While he might have been an aeronautical maestro, he was certainly no looker. Vargas explained that his bulging custardyellow crop was full of decomposing carrion: fetid morsels for journeys ahead as we watched him ease out of the valley in pursuit of his amigos. “I hope they will continue to soar above the Andes for many years to come,” said Vargas.

The following week I wondered if the condors spied me as they soared above the paramo plains and snowcapped volcanoes south of Antisanilla? Did they notice the snaking red carriages of Andean trains which offer a sublimely scenic way to travel through this mountainous landscape? The newest rail service, the luxurious Tren Crucero, is a four-day cross-Andean narrow-gauge adventure operating between Quito and Guayaquil. En route it calls by Cotopaxi National Park, home to an active snowcapped 5,897m-high volcano, with a cone-top snowline resembling cream oozing down a dark pudding.

I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIKE around Cotopaxi’s lava bombed treeless plains, where feral horse herds roam alongside farmed alpacas and llamas.

Days later in the rarified air around 4,000m I explored the lakeland plateau of the beautiful 28,544ha El Cajas National Park near Cuenca. It reminded me of the Lake District and I’m sure Wordsworth would’ve been

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Ecuador boasts a mindboggling 120 species of hummingbird. The moment I arrived at Tandayapa Lodge’s Andean cloud forests at around 1,700m, just two hours from Quito, I was startled to see 14 of their 19 species within half an hour. It was pure theatre watching them frenetically squabble around the nectar feeders, colliding mid-air, sometimes rattling bills like sabres and maneuvering in motions fanciful even for CGI creations. But given their all-action lifestyle, how do you photograph them without blurring their tremulous bodies?

Fortunately, Tandayapa Lodge specialises in photographic bird safaris. Natural history photographer Pablo Cervantes, who manages the lodge, guided me through his eight-step approach to snapping hummingbirds…

1 2

Position a colourful flower or nectar feeder as a lure.

Place two soft boxes enclosing bulbs, 1m from the lure to provide a diffuse light to capture the hummingbird’s true unexaggerated colours.

Top: the Andean emerald and purple woodstar hummingbird.

Above: a wild horse grazes in the shadow of Cotopaxi Volcano

3 4

Mount your camera on a tripod with a single flash unit.

Your distance from the nectar lure is determined by your lens: ideally use 300-400mm lenses to keep some distance.

5

Select single-frame mode on the camera because flash cannot keep up with rapid shutter depressions.

6

Choose manual focus at 1/250 shutterspeed and medium range aperture f11-13.

ISO 400 is fine.

7

As a point of reference for sharp focus, first photograph them feeding on the fixed object of the lure then peel away to capture them mid-air as they break from feeding.

8

Ensure plenty of coffee is available for a long vigil.

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Clockwise from left: a lone llama grazes on high-altitude pastures; mountain lakes in El Cajas National Park; a hillstar hummingbird briefly pauses in its search for nectar; Andean gulls preen in one of the lakes; the long Tren Crucero passing through an area that is known as Devil Nose

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Trip Report

ECUADOR’S ANDES

Andean trains offer a sublimely scenic way to travel through this mountainous landscape similiarly breathless about this place with both altitude and exulted prose. I’d come here to see El Cajas’ remarkable high-altitude hummingbird, the divine violet and lime-green feathered Hillstar of Chimborazo, and duly photographed one feeding off orange chuquiragua aster flowers at 4,200m.

Nearby was a curious polylepis paper-bark forest whose trees shed their skin like sunburned tourists to eliminate parasites.

Returning to Quito to access Ecuador’s northwestern cloud forests ranging around 1,500m-2,750m, I still hadn’t seen any of the Andes’ rare mammals, such as pumas, wolves, or spectacled bears, and wondered what, if any, were my chances of glimpsing an olinguito – the small nocturnal critter that had eluded taxonomists for so long. Hailed as the first carnivore to be discovered in the western hemisphere for 35 years, olinguitos are small furry domestic cat-sized creatures with bear-like features that inhabit the cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia. Previous infrequent sightings of them were dismissed simply as olingos – a similar-looking creature of the same genus, although larger and, significantly, possessing prehensile tails.

So when Dr Kristofer Helgen of Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History restrospectively DNA-tested skins of what was thought to be smaller specimens of olingos, he discovered a distinct species that had been miscategorised. Its discovery answered questions for those who had come across it previously – not least workers at an American zoo who had kept a female olinguito in captivity in the 1960s, but couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t breed with the ‘other’ olingos?

© MARK STRATTON

WITH ALMOST SPOOKY COINCIDENCE, just a few

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months before being revealed to the world, olinguitos began appearing at Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge, nestling high in billowing forests at 2,200m within the biologically rich Andean Chocó region. “Last May several suddenly turned up and began stealing fruit and drinking from our hummingbird’s nectar-feeders,” explained the lodge’s British owner, Richard Parsons. “We put out bananas and they started to arrive nightly. Like everybody else we initially thought they were small olingos, but after noticing they lacked prehensile tails, we wondered if we had something new on our hands. When their discovery was announced so soon after we were amazed”.

The rustic lodge lies within a 700ha reserve Richard bought back in 1991 to protect primary forest destined for conversion to cattle pasture. It is popular with birders for its kaleidoscopic array of exotic avians as vivid in name as in plumage: toucan barbets, cinnamon flycatchers, and turquoise jays; plus a dozen hummingbird varieties including the magnificent violet-tailed sylph with its irridescent ribbon tail.

After a wonderful day birding, I settled on Bellavista’s forest JULY 2014 35

Trip Report

ECUADOR’S ANDES

TRIP ADVISER

observation platform around 7pm and primed a branch with bananas.

Olinguitos are actually omnivores dieting on fruit and insects: not quite the carnivorous beasts media reports dwelled upon last year. I sat down and waited.

COST RATING Flights to Ecuador start around £629 with KLM (www.klm.com).

In Quito, Mark stayed at the colonial La Casona de la Ronda (www.lacasonadelaronda.com). In the cloud forests he stayed with Bellavista Lodge (www.bellavistacloudforest.com), where full-board costs around £126 pppn, while Tandayapa Lodge’s all-inclusive price starts from £151 pn. www.tandayapa.com.

Tren Ecuador offers a new four-day cross-Andean train, Tren Crucero. See www.trenecuador.com/crucero. In Cotopaxi, Mark stayed in the only lodge in the NP: the Tambopaxi. www. tambopaxi.com. For access to El Cajas he overnighted in Cuenca at the colonial Santa Lucia Hotel. www.santalucia.com

IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT when I decided to turn in. However, the following morning, I returned to the platform to discover the bananas had vanished. Initially fearing I’d missed an olinguito, I noticed a western red-tailed squirrel scoffing the last slice, while Bellavista’s camera-trap later showed a white-tipped possum.

Undeterred, I recommenced my vigil the next evening with my camera trained on a tree 10m away, where I was told the olinguitos usually appear.

After 45 minutes a dangling white-tipped tail appeared out of the canopy a few metres away and a male olinguito shinned down a nearby tree. Soon enough I was cooing like some deranged pigeon because olinguitos are outrageously cute. It has a teddy bear face: button hazel-brown eyes and tiny rounded ears. Its fur lightened from chocolatecolour on top to sandy beneath a body maybe 50cm long with a tail one-and-a-half times that in length.

Our encounter lasted less than a minute and he departed hurriedly into his arboreal sanctuary, leaving me wondering what other undiscovered mysteries are out there amid the swirling clouds?

But not before we briefly locked eyes. Our Faustian pact was simple. He got tasty banana and I became one of the few people in the world to photograph these gorgeous little forest-dwellers – not a bad deal.

SAMPLE PACKAGE TOUR: Rainbow Tours offer a 19-night Above: the plate-billed mountain toucan, inhabitant of the cloud forest.

Below: Mark’s photo of the cute olinguito he encountered at Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge

wildlife holiday to Ecuador, which costs from £4,980 per person.

It includes visits to Bellavista and Tandayapa Lodges in the Cloud Forest, Cotopaxi and Cajas National Parks, and a four-day journey aboard Tren Crucero. All meals included with stays in Quito, international flights, domestic transfers, and guides.

GETTING THERE: From Quito, getting to Antisanilla’s condors isn’t easy. Mark travelled with scientific researchers from Peregrine Fund (www.peregrinefund.org) and Fundación Jocotoco (www.fjocotoco.org). Those attempting it individually can contact Hosteria Guaytara (www.guayatara.com), the gateway into Antisanilla Reserve, to arrange transfers or bus. Or arrange a local tour in Quito with Metropolitan Touring. www. metropolitan-touring.com. Bellavista and Tandayapa Lodges both include direct pick-ups from your Quito hotels. Getting to Cotopaxi from Quito is easily done by the Machachi Festivo train: Thursday-Sunday services from £13 return. Disembark at El Boliche and arrange a taxi. See www.ecuadorbytrain.com.

VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK: None TIPS & WARNINGS: Protect your camera and valuables in Quito because tourists are targetted by petty thieves. Altitude sickness is a distinct possibility when visiting Antisanilla, Cotopaxi, and El Cajas. Spend a few days in Quito (2,800m) acclimatising, or begin your visit with the lower cloud forests.

WHEN TO GO: So little is known about olinguitos it’s hard to be sure of their seasonality, but Bellavista lodge staff said that during May-September they were visited every day in the early evening. For condor watching there’s a similar date recommendation. For more info: www.ecuadortravel.com/en

TOUR OPERATORS

NATURETREK, Tel: 01962 733 051; www.naturetrek.co.uk WILDLIFE WORLDWIDE, Tel: 0845 130 6982; www.wildlifeworldwide.com 36 JULY 2014

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© MARK STRATTON

RAINBOW TOURS, Tel: 020 7666 1250; www.rainbowtours.co.uk

TAKE AN

ANDEAN

ADVENTURE DISCOVER ECUADOR LATIN AMERICA | ANTARCTICA

Home to a colony of up to 25,000 breeding pairs of greater flamingos and other waterloving birds, wild boar and rare horses, the Camargue in southern France richly deserves its reputation as one of Europe’s great wildlife treats

38 JULY 2014

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Take me there

CAMARGUE, FRANCE

A flock of greater flamingos roost in the pale golden sunlight

chorus WORDS BY DOMINIC COUZENS

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JULY 2014 39

And have you heard about the night life, intrigue and famous faces? If you have, you’ll know all about the Camargue. Yes, the Camargue, not Cannes. Although Cannes might be exciting for a few days in May, the Camargue sparkles all year round.

Arguably France’s best known wildlife mecca, the Camargue lies on the Mediterranean coast between Marseille and Montpellier. It is the delta of the country’s second-longest river, the Rhône, which splits into two arms some 10km from the sea, at the Roman city of Arles. The Grand Rhône trundles south with 85 per cent of the water, while the Petit Rhône veers off south-west, leaving some 140,000 hectares of freshwater marsh, saltmarsh, dunes, beach and scrub in between. It is harsh country, frequently lashed by the mischievous north-westerly wind that is known as the Mistral. It is flat, sun-blasted and either too wet or salty for agriculture. Over the years, its relatively inhospitable terrain has saved it from being lost to

40 JULY 2014

development. These days, while hardly untouched by people, the Camargue remains one of the great wildlife treats of Europe.

W

et and salty is exactly how the Camargue’s most famous wild resident, the greater flamingo, likes it. Those long, pink legs are bare up to the belly because any feathers lower down would be spoiled by the highly saline (or alkaline) water in which the birds wade. In the Camargue, flamingos are found mainly in the southern section, in the lagoons and salt-pans close to the sea (there is a broad gradient fresh-salty as you go south), with the breeding colony on an islet in the Etang de Fangassier (off-limits to visitors). However, they range widely and can be seen in most brackish or salty lagoons. Such waters abound in brine shrimps which constitute the birds’ major food. Flamingos make an odd sight as they totally immerse their curiously bent bills (they are wildlifeextra.com

© DAVID TIPLING (PREVIOUS PAGE), BERTRAND DE CAMARET, CAMILLE MOIRENC/ GETTY, BLINKWINKEL, BILL EAGLE, PHOTOSTOCK-ISRAEL, JUNIORS BILDARCHIV GmbH, CUBOIMAGES SRL/ALAMY

Have

YOU HEARD THE RUMOURS ABOUT THE PARADE OF BEAUTIFUL BODIES ON THE FRENCH SHORES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN?

Take me there

CAMARGUE, FRANCE

AND FAUNA TOP 5 FLORA OF THE CAMARGUE Here: a procession of greater flamingos wade through a shallow river in the Camargue Below: wild horses in the Bouches-du-Rhône , the area at the mouth of the river

1

BIRD: EUROPEAN BEE-EATER An exotic bird to rival the appeal of a flamingo, this gaudily colourful bee-eater is common all over the Camargue. It feeds on honey bees, as the name suggests, but it also on dragonflies. It nests in colonies, making holes in earth banks like its close relative, the Kingfisher.

2

MAMMAL: WILD BOAR Wild boar roam the marshes and woods of the Camargue in good numbers, although they tend to be shy and tricky to see. You might be lucky and encounter one as you drive quietly along some of the minor roads or tracks, from dusk and into the night.

3

REPTILE: MONTPELLIER SNAKE The largest of the area’s 14 species of reptiles, the Montpellier snake can grow up to 2m long. It is actually the commonest snake in the region, occurring in every habitat except for the actual marshes. It is often seen on roads and tracks in the area.

4

INSECT: SAGA PEDO Sometimes known as the “Predatory bush-cricket” or the “Lobster of Provence”, this huge Orthropteran is the largest insect in Western Europe, up to 12cm long. It is wingless, but that doesn’t stop it from being highly predatory, often jumping on smaller insects from above.

5

PLANT: FRENCH TAMARISK It might not be the most beautiful plant in the region, but Tamarix gallica is one that you cannot miss, especially if you visit the more saline area in the south, and near the beaches. It is a wispy bush that can grow to 5m high, and sports attractive pink flowers.

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JULY 2014 41

Take me there

CAMARGUE, FRANCE

Clockwise from left: a grey heron finds the fishing good in the freshwater marshes of northern Camargue; salt crystals coat the stones and wooden stakes of the saltern areas; a family of coypu, perfectly at home in their adopted country

kinked to maintain an even crack of 4-6mm all the way down between the mandibles, so the birds can filter small organisms from the water), and they are among the few species of birds that usually feed with their head upside down. In recent years flamingos have also taken to feeding in rice paddies.

© DAVE WAT, CBAUD, ADAM JONES/GETTY

F

lamingos lend an exotic touch which is somehow counterintuitive here in the south of France. Most people associate truly wild flamingos with Africa, yet the Camargue, with its colony fluctuating between 14,000 and 25,000 breeding pairs (the largest in Europe), is just over 10 hours drive away from Calais, if you take the fast routes. It is on the doorstep of temperate Europe. But in the hot sun, heat haze and big skies, it is easy to beguile yourself into thinking you are far, far away.

The flamingos share their saltmarsh habitat with a number of other waterbirds, several of which show off ‘flamingo-like’ features. The bold black-and-white black-winged stilt exhibits fashionably shocking pink spindly legs (they look like coloured straws), while the slender-billed gull, once rare but

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now numbering about 1,000 pairs after the first breeding in 1993, sports a pinkish tinge to the breast, as if in homage. On the other hand, Kentish plovers, which are beach-babes at heart but also inhabit the sandy edges of the lagoons, are tiny and plump-to-bursting. They run around, legs whirring, like clockwork tennis-balls, if you can imagine that.

Not surprisingly with so much water around, flamingos are not the only tall wading birds that thrive in the Camargue.

Every species of heron in Europe breeds here, from the moorhen-sized and secretive little bittern to the stately great egret, a bird which sports a fan of long, impressive white plumes that might embarrass a peacock but is nonetheless impressive. The best spots to watch herons are the richer, freshwater marshes of the northern Camargue, for example at the Visitor Centre at La Capellière or the Marais de Vigueirat in the east. Look out for the purple heron, similar in size to our own but richly burnished in purple and chestnut.

In spring, these reedbeds of the northern Camargue play host to a variety of well-hidden creatures, everything from

The evening is the best time to see one of the Camargue’s odder residents, that South American rodent, the coypu

JULY 2014 43

reed warblers to Perez’s frogs and southern water voles. Many of these animals only offer glimpses, from bearded tits skimming hurriedly over the reeds to water rails scampering at their base. It pays to watch from the comfort of a hide for these tricky species. Or you could just relax, rest your eyes and let the sounds well over you. From the coarse croaking or falsetto peeping of frogs and toads (there are 10 species of amphibians in the Camargue), to the low, foghorn-like boom of bitterns; and from the fitful near-retching of great reed warblers to the yelling proclamations of Cetti’s warblers (like Eine Kleine Nachtmusik at full volume), the Camargue choir is a joy in itself.

If anything, the night-time chorus is even better, especially in spring. But I should add a warning. A few years ago I was foolish enough to venture into the marshes in the northern Camargue at night, with the hope of sound-recording frogs and crickets. I hadn’t reckoned on mosquitoes, that assaulted me and my colleague with fearsome delight, and forced us to retreat. In the morning my face was so distorted with bites I could have featured in a horror movie without makeup!

The evening is also the best time to see one of the Camargue’s odder residents, that South American rodent, the coypu. It was imported to Europe for its fur, but soon escaped and first appeared in this area in 1960. It is now exceedingly common, even in brackish pools. It is a little, like a small beaver but with a rat-like tail, and it makes burrows in

44 JULY 2014

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Take me there

CAMARGUE, FRANCE

Here be dragons JULY IS THE BEST TIME TO SEE THE CAMARGUE’S COLOURFUL DAMSEL AND DRAGONFLIES

riverbanks. The young can swim from birth. Look out for them in any quiet stretches of water.

© BARBANNA, GERARD SOURY, CORDIER SYLVAIN,

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Clockwise from above: the wild horses are indigenous to the area; a European pond turtle; a black-winged stilt; a little egret preening in the Parc Ornithologique.

Right: the wetlands between Saintes Maries de la Mer and Aigues Mortes

lthough the Camargue is not renowned for its wild mammals it is, of course, famous for its free-ranging white (technically grey) horses and black bulls.

In contrast to yarns spun by the locals, the horses aren’t truly wild in the “mustang” sense but are actually managed by the local farmers, and many are ridden from time to time.

However, they are an ancient breed, one of the oldest in the world, and they do spend most of the year foraging on the marshes and pasture in small herds typically composed of a stallion, a few mares and their offspring. The bulls, which have sharp, upward sweeping horns, have historically been bred for bullfighting.

The delta is large, sparsely populated and mainly given over to wildlife, but it could not be described as a wilderness. Part of its charm is that it is reasonably accessible. You have the choice of driving local roads and tracks, hiking off road or using a bicycle. There are also several good sites with visitor facilities for those who want to take it easy. One of the last named is the Parc Ornithologique, which lies along the main

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With its large area, range of aquatic habitats, and equable climate, it is no surprise to find that the Camargue and surrounding area is one of Europe’s finest sites for dragonflies and damselflies, many of which are not found in the British Isles. Several sites are recommended. As a starting point, les Marais des Vigueirat in the east is perfect on a warm, still day and hums with the whirring wings of odonata. Some 41 species have been recorded here, including the goblet-marked damselflies, both orange and white featherlegs, orange-spotted emerald and green-eyed hawkers (right), as well as common species such as small red-eyed damselflies, lesser emperors, scarlet darters and white-tailed skimmers. Other good sites include the Etang du Charnier, the Etang de Scamandre and le Parc Ornithologique.

A morning by the canal in the Vallee des Baux, situated between La Crau and Les Alpilles and close to the village of Mouriès, can often produce 15 or so species including southern skimmer, western clubtail and white featherleg. Surprisingly, perhaps, the most exciting site in the Camargue area is actually in La Crau. Here you can find all the calopteryx demoiselles in Europe, including the yellow-tailed and the exquisite copper.

Other good species here are southern damselfly, southern and keeled skimmers, blue-eyed hooktail and dusk hawker.

You need a permit (€3) to visit Peau de Meau. Buy one from the Ecomusée in St Martin de la Crau (open office hours Mon to Sat).

A list of dragonflies that can be found in the area can be downloaded from http://crossbillguides.com/

JULY 2014 45

Take me there

CAMARGUE, FRANCE road between Arles and the coastal village of the Camargue, Saintes Maries de la Mer. This is essentially a zoo, housing local birds that have been injured in some way, either shot or struck by cars. There are cages for some of the raptors, while the flamingos have their own open salt-pans and are frequently joined by wild birds. Wild white storks nest here too, close to their captive counterparts.

One of the finest hikes in the area is known as La Digue, and begins just east of Saintes Maries. It takes you on a track eastwards towards the isolated lighthouse Phare de Gacholle, past lagoons and salt flats. Several rare birds occur here, including the spectacled warbler, and the tamarisk bushes often house migrants in spring, fresh from their journey over the Mediterranean.

N

o article on the Camargue would be complete without mentioning two places that aren’t actually part of it. This might seem a curious statement, but the stony desert of La Crau and the limestone hills of Les Alpilles are both so close to the delta in geography and so utterly different in ecology that few wildlife tourists to these parts can possibly resist adding them to the itinerary (although parts of the Alpilles are closed from July to Sept in order to prevent forest fires). La Crau, which is the old, dried up delta of the River Durance, is France’s only stony steppe (coussouls), and one of the few in Western Europe. Desolate and flat, it plays host to such birds as pin-tailed sandgrouse (in short grass) and little bustard (longer grass), as well as stone curlew, roller and calandra lark. Les Alpilles hills lie to the north-east of the Camargue and consists of classic Mediterranean vegetation painted on to a canvass of sublime scenery. Several montane birds, including wallcreeper, winter in this area.

A combination of Camargue, La Crau and Les Alpilles will give you one of Europe’s very best wildlife experiences. And if you set off now, you could be there in less than a day.

COST RATING SAMPLE PACKAGE TOUR: Naturetrek offers a ‘Camargue in spring’ tour, focussing on the birdlife, which lasts for 5 days and costs £895, including flights, food and accommodation. Tel: 01962 733 051; www.naturetrek.co.uk

GETTING THERE: The south of France is well served by flights to Montpellier, Nîmes and Avignon. It is equally easy to hire a car when you arrive. Self-drive from the UK would also be an option. It is roughly 10 hour’s drive from Calais to Arles, 46 JULY 2014

without stops. Be aware that the autoroutes tolls will add to the cost.

There is a tourist office in Arles and maps and guidebooks are also available from the various visitor centres around the region. Most guides available on site are in French, of course.

There is wealth of accommodation to suit all budgets, including camping.

This is a tourist area, so it is best to book beforehand, particularly in summer. The area is flat and you can hire bikes in Arles and Saintes Maries de la Mer, which is a great way to see the Camargue. Please note that some reserves have a small entry fee.

VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK: None, as France is in the EC

TIPS & WARNINGS: This is Western Europe, so the Camargue is hardly a hotbed of danger but there is some petty crime, so keep cars locked and valuables out of sight. Sun cream is essential in the summer months as it can be very hot, bright, and windy even in summer. Mosquitoes can be a big problem in the freshwater marshes. Also, it is dangerous to approach the horses and bulls.

WHEN TO GO: The Camargue is a year-round destination. However, the area is very touristy in the summer holidays, with French as well as visitors from abroad. Happily, this time of year is less attractive to wildlife watchers as it coincides with what is the quietest time, at least for

birds, although the insects are superb.

Spring might be best (as is the case almost anywhere in Europe), but don’t overlook winter. The Camargue teems with waterbirds, and various eagle species visit at this time.

TOUR OPERATORS

NATURETREK, Tel: 01962 733 051; www.naturetrek.co.uk HEATHERLEA, Tel: 01479 821 248; www.heatherlea.co.uk THE TRAVELLING NATURALIST, Tel: 01305 267 994; www.naturalist.co.uk ORNITHOLIDAYS, Tel: 01794 519 445; www.ornitholidays.co.uk

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© CLAUDIO CANTONETTI, ADAM JONES/GETTY

TRIP ADVISER

Above: a flock of greater flamingos makes its way home to roost as the sun sets. Left: the foals of the Camargue horses are born darker and as they grow their hair turns grey-white while their skin remains dark

Anatomy of a...

Red-eyed tree frog It looks like it would stick out like a sore thumb, but this frog has a clever camouflage strategy

Eyes These are the animal’s best defence.

When it’s startled, these bulging, bright red peepers are flashed, along with the frog’s brightly coloured underparts, to stop a predator in its tracks. The eyes are also very large in relation to the body, which is thought to give it good night vision to catch its own prey.

Because of their size, the tree frog’s eyes are very sensitive and are protected not only by eyelids but also by a nictitating membrane that is drawn across the surface of the eye.

This allows it to see yet saves it from damage when it is in danger, such as in a battle with another frog.

Toes There are large, round, specially adapted toe caps on the feet that act like suction pads to hold the frog firmly on stems and leaves. The underside of each toe is covered with tightly packed ‘nanopillars’ that have the consistency of silicone rubber. These enable the toes to follow the contours of the surface to which the animal is clinging. In between these bunched protrusions is a small amount of wet mucus that performs like an adhesive.

Skin Despite being a kaleidoscope of neon colours, this tree frog can pass almost unnoticed in the rainforest. It sleeps during the day held by sticky toes to the underside of leaves, eyes closed, stripy belly pressed to the leaf, and limbs tucked in so only the outer green surfaces show. When it does reveal itself, usually at night, the colour is thought to over-stimulate the night vision of the predator, leaving it with a ghost impression. This confuses it long enough to allow the frog to escape. Unlike other brightly patterned animals and insects, its colouration does not indicate that it’s poisonous.

Body The size, and colour, of these frogs varies depending on where they live. The northernmost ones are the smallest and have light blue sides and yellow toes. The southern branch are larger with deep blue to purple sides, sky blue inner thighs and orange toes. Males are generally smaller than females, an average 2in as opposed to 3in. They are exclusively carnivores, catching crickets, grasshoppers, moths and flies.

The males’ bodies quiver at the peak of a croak in the breeding season, and they attempt to out-stare rivals. If this fails they end up wrestling.

Where in the world?

Red-eyed tree frogs inhabit humid lowland tropical rainforests and adjacent hills in southern Mexico, Central America – Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize, Panama and Costa Rica – and northern South America.

They live in the canopy layer of the forest, sometimes concealed inside bromeliads where water can be trapped in pools by the stiff, fleshy leaves. They need to be near permanent or seasonal water sources as they depend greatly on moisture and still pools for breeding.

Although red-eyed tree frogs are not yet on the endangered species list, they have come to symbolise the efforts to save the world’s remaining rainforests from being cleared for mining, logging and agriculture.

Legs Long limbs help the tree frog to climb and swim well. The powerful hind legs can propel the frogs up to a metre and a half through the air if threatened, but they prefer to walk slowly, attracting as little attention to themselves as possible.

Reproduction Red-eyed tree frogs mate between October and March. The males make loud croaking noises to establish territories and attract females. When they are finally chosen, they lock onto her back in a hold known as amplexus. The female lays her eggs on the bottom of a leaf suspended over standing water. These are fertilised by the male as they emerge. Between each clutch, she descends to the water, the male still aboard, to absorb moisture for the next batch. He clings on until the last egg is delivered – often a couple of days. After five days the tadpoles wriggle down the leaf and drop into the water.

Twenty years after the horrors of the Rwandan genocide shocked the globe, the country is busy reinventing itself as one of the world’s top wildlife tourism destinations, with Big Five safaris and superb birding complementing the welldocumented thrill of tracking mountain gorillas

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wanda eborn

50 JULY 2014

WORDS BY PHILIP BRIGGS

TRACKING MOUNTAIN GORILLAS IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK,

which protects the Rwandan portion of the Virungas mountain range, is arguably the world’s most thrilling wildlife encounter.

The ascent is breathtaking, both literally and figuratively.

Initially you climb fertile slopes dense with cultivation, with the Virunga peaks rising tall and steeply in front – sometimes barely visible through the mist and clouds, at other times clear and sharply defined.

To the west stands Karisimbi, the highest of the volcanoes at 4,507m, so lofty that its equatorial peak is sometimes capped by snow. To the northeast, Muhabura also tops 4,000m, and its name – literally ‘the guide’ – refers to the fiery glow that reputedly illuminated its peak into the 19th century. Upfront is Sabyinyo, the most ancient and weathered of the eight volcanoes that make up the Virungas, its jagged rim resembling the ‘old man’s teeth’ for which it is named.

At around 2,500m, the footpath crosses the national park boundary to enter a hushed montane forest of impenetrable bamboo skyscrapers, broadleaved herbaceous shrubs and fragrant hagenia stands. Elephant and buffalo spoors splatter the muddy forest floor, while

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FUTURE FOR RWANDA

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birds and monkeys chatter overhead, and spiteful nettles lie waiting at the margins.

After anything from 30 minutes to a few hours tracking, you will finally come upon your first gorilla. It might be a barrelheaded, barrel-chested silverback, no taller than an average human, but thrice as bulky, peaceably shredding a succulent bamboo stick. Or a curious mother, taking two paces forward then raising her head to stare questioningly into your eyes. Or a cocky young male attempting to climb a liana, its soft black coat comically fluffed-up as it demonstrates the arboreal incompetence of this most sedentary of apes. No two encounters are exactly the same. But, as anybody who has looked into the liquid brown eyes of a wild mountain gorilla will attest, it is always an awesome experience – inspirational, emotional, and profoundly satisfying.

Rwanda is not, on the face of things, the most promising of ecotourism destinations. The fourth smallest country in mainland Africa, it is also the most densely populated, supporting more than 400 people per sq km (comparable to the Netherlands or Puerto Rico, and more than five times greater than Tanzania or Kenya). Outside of officially protected areas, the sheer slopes that led Rwanda’s Belgian colonisers to dub it Pays des Milles Collines (Land of a Thousand Hills) are terraced with cultivation and practically denuded of indigenous vegetation. Rwanda has endured one of the region’s most fractious post-colonial experiences, culminating in the globally reported genocide of early 1994 which claimed an estimated 800,000 lives and forced millions into temporary exile.

Here: a small hilltop village in the rugged Volcanoes National Park.

Clockwise from above: zebra numbers are increasing in Rwanda and they can now be seen by most visitors; ruwenzori colobus monkey, living in Nyungwe Forest National Park; lions can be found in Akagera National Park; a great blue turaco

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utside perceptions of Rwanda are still shaped by the genocide, understandably so given the horrific images that beamed across the world’s television screens at the time. But stability was restored after the Rwanda Patriotic Front took over the reins of power in June 1994, and reconciliation and reconstruction have been the buzzwords ever since. Today, Rwanda ranks among the continent’s most politically progressive and least corrupt countries, boasting a healthy economic growth rate that led The Economist to dub it ‘Africa’s Singapore’ in February 2012.

Tourism has played an important role in Rwanda’s rehabilitation. Despite the image deficit created by the genocide, when gorilla tracking – the country’s main tourist attraction in the late 1980s – resumed in 1999, it soon lured a steady trickle of hardy backpackers across the border from Uganda. By 2008, around 40,000 foreigners were visiting Rwanda’s gorillas annually, and with the cost of a tracking permit now set at US$750 (£440), tourism has become the country’s largest source of foreign revenue.

But while tourist development in Rwanda has gone progressively more upmarket since 1999, it has also only focussed heavily on gorilla tracking. As a result, most visitors perceive Rwanda as a pit-stop gorilla-tracking destination and, rather than exploring the country over a full holiday,

52 JULY 2014

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REINVENTING RWANDA

they just tag a two- or three-night stay onto a longer safari elsewhere in Africa.

Could this be because this small and heavily populated country has little else to offer in the way of ecotourism opportunities? Emphatically not! Volcanoes National Park alone now offers a varied range of organised activities, including tracking a habituated golden monkey troop, the hike to Dian Fossey’s former research centre and grave at Karisoke, and a slippery but stunning day hike up Bisoke, an extinct volcano with a beautiful crater lake nestled in its peak.

Furthermore, Rwanda boasts two other national parks, which – though largely unsung and until recently poorly developed – provide the ideal complement both to the Virungas and to each other.

© MARK NAGEL, ARIADNE VAN ZANDBERGEN, CULTURA RM, PHIL CROSBY, ALEXANDRIA/ALAMY

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cologically, the most important of the national parks, set in the country’s hilly southwest, is the 1,015 sq km Nyungwe National Park, which protects East Africa’s largest extant tract of montane forest. An appropriate initial response to Nyungwe is simply to marvel that such a substantial relict of the forest belt, that once ran uninterrupted along the eastern rim of the Albertine Rift Valley, has survived into the 21st century.

The forest also boasts a rare biodiversity, enhanced by an altitudinal span of 1,600 to 2,950m. More than 100 type of orchid have been recorded, while the mammal checklist of 85 species incorporates 13 primates, most glamorously chimpanzee, but also the likes of Rwenzori colobus and L’Hoest’s monkey, both of which are abundant. This is one of East Africa’s most important ornithological sites. Its trademark bird is the great blue turaco, a garish blue, green and yellow apparition whose giant proportions make it resemble a psychedelic turkey. But 327 bird species have been recorded in total, among them 27 Albertine Rift Endemics (AREs), including three unknown from elsewhere on the eastern side of the Albertine Rift.

Rwanda has been slow to realise Nyungwe’s tourist potential. As recently as the start of 2009, accommodation was limited to a no-frills guesthouse and a basic campsite, and guiding remained substandard. Since then, the park has seen the opening of the five-star Nyungwe Forest Lodge and a decent midrange hotel. Standards of guiding have also improved immeasurably, while chimpanzee tracking from Cyamudongo Ranger Post becomes more productive with every passing season. A more gimmicky development, funded by the US Agency for International Development, is the spectacular 200m long, 40m high Canopy Walkway that opened in October 2010.

Totally different in character, Akagera National Park is the closest thing in Rwanda to the great game parks of Kenya and Tanzania. Set on the country’s eastern border, it protects a low-lying expanse of undulating plains covered in acacia woodland and savanna, as well as an extensive network of lakes, swamps and other tropical waterways fed by the Kagera

JULY 2014 53

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River. In its 1980s pomp, Akagera supported a superb range of large mammals, including all the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino), while its bird checklist ran to an astounding 530 species, including several eagerly sought papyrus dwellers, such as blue-headed coucal.

Of Rwanda’s parks, Akagera was the hardest hit by the genocide. More than half of its original 2,500 sq km area was degazetted – stripped of its official protection – in 1997 to accommodate returned refugees. What remained was plagued by poaching over subsequent years, and its lakes were routinely used to water livestock, so that lion and black rhino were both extinct by the mid-2000s, and the most commonly seen large mammals on game drives were domestic cattle. Towards the end of the decade, Rwanda’s only potential safari destination seemed to be in terminal decline.

This trend was reversed in 2010, when the government entered into a renewable 20-year contract with the African Parks Network (a non-profit organisation that has enjoyed considerable success elsewhere in Africa) to create the Akagera Management Company. It is still early days for the new regime, but the signs are encouraging: several new roads have been constructed, a new boundary fence is being erected to keep out

Dian Fossey and her gorillas One woman who defied poachers to save a species for Rwanda and the world The first study of mountain gorilla behaviour was undertaken in the 1950s by George Schaller, whose pioneering 1963 book The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behaviour revealed these once reviled apes to be highly intelligent and profoundly gentle creatures. It also formed the starting point for the better known work of Dian Fossey, an American primatologist who arrived in Rwanda to study its mountain gorillas in 1967. Fossey founded the Karisoke Research Centre on the forested slopes of Mount Karisimbi, from where she gradually habituated the study group whose exploits are documented in her bestselling book Gorillas in the Mist.

During her time at Karisoke, Fossey became increasingly conscious of the gorillas’ vulnerability to habitat loss and poaching. The Virunga population had been reasonably stable in 1960, when Schaller’s census indicated that some 450 individuals lived in the range. But the irreversible loss of almost half of the gorillas’ habitat to a European-funded agricultural scheme between 1957 and 1968, exacerbated by poaching, had caused the population to plummeted to around 250 by the early 1970s.

It is largely thanks to Fossey’s vigilante anti-poaching campaign in Volcanoes National Park that this activity was curtailed while there were still some gorillas to save. It is also assumed that the brutal slaying of Fossey in December 1985 was perpetrated by one of the many poachers whom she antagonised. Three years after her death, Fossey’s life work reached a mass audience when the movie Gorillas in the Mist, a cinematic account of her life filmed in Volcanoes National Park, grossed more than US$60 million (£35 million), and earned five Academy Award nominations.

Ironically, Fossey was broadly opposed to the gorilla tourism stimulated by her work. However, the revenue generated by tourism, and the associated economic trickle down, has clearly been a big factor behind the slow but steady doubling of the Virunga mountain gorilla population from its early 1970s nadir to an estimated 480 in 2013.

Above: the Canopy Walkway at Nyungwe Forest National Park, opened in 2010.

Left: a golden monkey nibbling on bamboo at Volcanoes National Park.

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Here: a herd of graceful impala invade a forest track.

Below: a young mountain gorilla tests its climbing skills

poachers, newly added activities include night drives and boat trips, and November 2012 saw the opening of the new Rusizi Tented Camp on the shores of the largest lake.

More importantly, wildlife numbers are visibly on the increase – elephant and buffalo are quite common, hippos are abundant around the lakes, giraffe and zebra are encountered by most visitors, and a wide variety of antelope includes healthy populations of the localised roan, eland and marshdwelling sitatunga. Looking further ahead, the African Parks Network plans a series of reintroductions, similar to those it recently implemented in Malawi’s Majete Wildlife Reserve, calculated to restore Akagera to its former status as one of the Big Five destinations.

A

kagera is a superb birding destination and it could scarcely complement Nyungwe better in terms of habitat. Where Nyungwe protects a wealth of AREs and other forest dwellers, Akagera is excellent for woodland, savanna and water-associated birds. Although the checklist of the reduced park has dipped below 500 species, it still includes such eagerly sought wetland specials as papyrus gonolek and white-winged warbler, not to mention the gawkily improbable shoebill, which is a regular at Lake

56 JULY 2014

Birengero. The open plains support an excellent range of raptors, and it is the most accessible site anywhere for red-faced barbet, a localised endemic from the savannas west of Lake Victoria.

Recent developments at Akagera and Nyungwe bode well not only for conservation in Rwanda but also for the expansion of the tourist infrastructure until it covers all corners of the country.

Indeed, together with other non-wildlife attractions – the lovely Lake Kivu along the Congolese border, the fascinating National Museum in Butare and the chilling Genocide Memorial in Kigali – the upgrading of these two spectacular but under-publicised parks means that Rwanda is close to being a top-end ecotourism destination in its own right.

This makes it so much more that just an add-on to a wildlife safari in a neighbouring country. wildlifeextra.com

© BLICKWINKEL, CULTURA RM/ALAMY

Anyone who has looked into the liquid brown eyes of a mountain gorilla will attest it is an awesome experience

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Ultimate

DIVE DESTINATIONS AFRICA

RED SEA EGYPT To truly appreciate the stunning hard and soft corals, reef fish and pelagics in the Red Sea it’s best to organise a liveaboard trip to reach dive sites that are free from crowds of day-trippers coming from shore-based operations.

There are about 200 species of hard corals in the Red Sea that support a vast array of more than 1,300 species of fish and more than 1,000 types of molluscs. There are even more than 250 kinds of bristleworms there.

On these reefs you’ll find the whole gamut of tropical marine life – beautiful anemones with clownfish sheltering in their tendrils, yellow and blue-striped royal angelfish, blue-cheeked lemonfish, puffers and pipefish.

There are so many glorious creatures they can afford to name the exoticlooking lionfish with the not-so-exotic name of turkeyfish!

A liveaboard in the southern Red Sea also gives you the best chance of getting to less accessible dive spots where you’ll find hammerhead sharks – schools of them gather on Jackson Reef from July to September, for instance.

Along with the hammerheads you can also find reef, Hammerhead silky, thresher and oceanic white tip sharks, dolphins, sharks turtles and, among the sea grasses in the shallower parts of the reefs, grazing dugongs.

KEY SPECIES:

The undulating Spanish dancer

ZANZIBAR TANZANIA Who can dive? PADI Open Water and onward for reef dives in the north; PADI Advanced Open Water or equivalent for shark dives in the south Who’ll guide you? 33 liveaboards and 82 dive centres are registered with the Egyptian Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS). Being world-famous for diving, there are dozens of blacklisted dive outfits in Egypt, so check with CDWS. Anyone go from the UK? Oonasdivers Dive Adventures, Tel: 01323 648 924; www.oonasdivers.com/liveaboards

The coral gardens that fringe the Zanzibar archipelago are full of life during the day, but are even more awe-inspiring at night. This is the time to see free-swimming morays, shy squid and spiny lobsters. The stars of the show, though, have to be the Spanish dancers, a type of nudibranch, or sea slug, that is deep red, edged with a gold or yellow frill. This fascinating creature is a strong swimmer and whirls through the dark water like a marine flamenco performer, throwing its horned head backwards and forwards, arching its back and flourishing its ruffled borders like a flounced skirt.

Zanzibar has seven protected marine parks that safeguard many endangered species. Along with a wide range of other Indo-Pacific species, green turtles can be found in great numbers and are unmoved by divers observing them foraging on the reef.

The strange guitar shark, which is actually a type of Spanish ray, can be seen at the dancers Watabomi dive site.

KEY SPECIES:

The unmistakeable silhouette of a hammerhead shark

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Who can dive? PADI Open Water or equivalent onwards Who’ll guide you? Around 20 dive outfits Anyone go from the UK? Pure Zanzibar, Tel: 0843 636 8527; www.zanzibar.co.uk

JULY 2014 59

Magnificent whalesharks travel conveniently close to the surface to make even snorkel encounters possible

A colourful nudibranch

BATANGAS PHILIPPINES The area around Anilao in the province of Batangas has some of the most unspoilt reefs in a country that is packed with fantastic dive sites. Where there are strong currents you will get the big stars – black-tipped and white-tipped reef sharks, blue spotted and eagle rays, and turtles – but in the quieter waters this is a particularly good spot for those little life forms that are the favourites of photographers.

Nudibranchs – brilliantly multicoloured and patterned sea slugs – are found in a great number and variety.

Here there are around 600 species, flowing slowly over the profusion of both hard and soft corals.

Vary-hued crinoids also abound.

These marine animals, that resemble feather flowers on a stem, are living fossils that have been inhabiting our

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KEY SPECIES: Macro reef life

oceans for 450 million years. Other special and relatively rare creatures to be seen on and around the shallow ledges are hairy frogfish, ghost pipe fish, blue-ringed octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish and ribbon eels. A warty anglerfish is also worth looking for, although with its strange shaped head, lumpy texture, and mottled colouring, it is very well camouflaged among the yellow and pink sponges.

Who can dive? From novices onwards Who’ll guide you? Around 10 dive outfits around Anilao; more than 380 in the Philippines as a whole Anyone go from the UK? Equator Diving, Tel: 0161 442 7703; www.equatordiving.com wildlifeextra.com

Ultimate

DIVE DESTINATIONS ASIA

MALDIVES INDIAN OCEAN The Maldivian atolls are a diver’s dream. Every island resort has its own house reef so you don’t even have to dive to see the whole range of sea creatures available in these warm Indian Ocean waters. Even young reef sharks and rays come into the white sandy lagoons and cruise harmlessly among the swimmers. The stronger currents in the channels between the atolls bring larger fish close to hand. Depending on whether you are in the northern or southern monsoon season you can see whalesharks cruising by just metres under the surface on either the east or west side of the country.

If seeing a whaleshark is a matter of luck, this plays a slightly lesser part in finding giant manta rays as all the dive guides know the best spots to wait in the hope of seeing them. These 15ft wingspan wonders frequent rocky outcrop ‘cleaning stations’ where much smaller wrasses dart out at their approach to pick parasites off their skin.

Sitting patiently on the bottom near one of these stations can be often be rewarded by the sight of three, four, five or more mantas circling for minutes at a time. But, as with most marine encounters, nothing can be guaranteed.

Nevertheless, while you’re waiting for mantas, there’s plenty more to see. Large groups of slender garden eels rise vertically from the sandy floor to sway gently in the current, oriental sweetlips shoal in the shelter of coral blocks and seahorses cling to gorgonians. Around a sunlit thila, the local name for a coral block that rises like a column with a flat top, you can find yourself in among a big school of Moorish idols or butterfly fish, watching parrotfish bite chunks off the hard corals with their tough beaks as triggerfish click by.

KEY SPECIES:

Whale sharks & Manta rays

Who can dive? Anyone from novice onwards Who’ll guide you? Resident dive outfits on around 100 resort islands Anyone go from the UK? Original Diving, Tel: 020 7978 0505; www.originaldiving.com

PALAU MICRONESIA

The flowing fins of a lionfish pack a nasty sting

Three ocean currents converge around Palau and bring a rich soup of nutrients to sustain a large variety of marine life. The country consists of a collection of 340 coral and volcanic islands, the whole of which is encircled by a barrier reef system.

It is the currents that bring the huge and docile Napoleon, or humphead, wrasse to the islands, especially to Blue Napolean Corner. Unafraid of divers, wrasse perched on coral branches these often 6ft long gentle in sheltered lagoons. There are giants, coloured from bright blue to stunningly beautiful soft corals and pale green, can approach closely to unusual invertebrates such as the eye you up. This species of wrasse is chambered nautilus. long-lived but slow breeding and unregulated fishing has brought it to Endangered status. Each Napoleon Who can dive? From novice onwards has unique markings so researchers Who’ll guide you? About 100 dive are able to keep track of individuals. operators Also seen around Palau are the Anyone go from the UK? Dive Quest, gloriously psychedelic mandarin Tel: 01254 826 322; www.divequestfish, which is small, only about 6cm diving-holidays.co.uk long, and very shy, but can be seen

KEY SPECIES:

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The awesome devil ray

AZORES PORTUGAL Because of its location mid-Atlantic, the islands of the Azores feature a large number of cetaceans passing through their waters. Its subtropical waters, fed by the Gulf Stream, are renowned for good visibility and perfect for marine life that attracts large predators.

The Azores, therefore, is a really good place to go for impressive schools of pelagic fish such as Almaco jacks, yellowmouth barracudas and Atlantic bonitos. In the summer and at deeper levels there are often devil rays circling the reef, and you can find stretches of rare black coral. On the tops of the shallower reefs can be found rainbow wrasse and the Azores chromis.

But it’s really for the chance of diving 64 JULY 2014

Faial islands. These seamounts are with a variety of sharks, within easy columns of rock that were forced up reach of the UK, that you might choose from the ocean depths centuries ago these islands. Along with their by volcanic activity and now house great opportunities for many small fish that make a meal whale-watching, of course.

The Condor Seamount, Blue sharks & for the larger species.

Where other locations may offer about 10 miles from Faial devil rays fantastic reefs, this is blue water island, and accessible also from diving at its best.

Pico island, is where you can often find a group of up to 15 blue sharks which, if you wait patiently, will approach Who can dive? PADI Advanced Open divers out of curiosity. It is one of the few Water or equivalent places in the world where divers can Who’ll guide you? Around 20 dive swim naturally with these animals. operators Devil rays also view divers as a Anyone go from the UK? Dive novelty to observe. These graceful Worldwide, Tel: 0845 130 6980; animals can be found in groups round www.diveworldwide.com the seamounts near Santa Maria and

KEY SPECIES:

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Ultimate

DIVE DESTINATIONS EUROPE

GOZO MEDITERRANEAN

A rare view of a freeswimming octopus

Perhaps best known for spectacular underwater topography, which often requires advanced diving skills, Gozo and its two sister islands of Malta and Comino can, nonetheless, offer some interesting marine life to divers with moderate experience. Because of the rocky coastline, colourful sponges in pinks, oranges, reds and yellows can be found under overhangs and on the walls and roofs of caves. This can make for a very rewarding night dive as the lights bring out the colours. You can also find large shoals of juvenile barracudas, rainbow wrasse, parrotfish, and Sponges and red mullets grubbing hanging lace coral in the sandy bottom.

KEY SPECIES:

Who can dive? PADI Advanced Open Water or equivalent for cave and night diving Who’ll guide you? Around 50 dive operators, including hotel/dive packages from Maltaqua, Tel: (+356) 21 571 111; www.maltaqua.com Wrecks and interesting underwater topology also feature in Gozo

ADRIATIC COAST CROATIA

KEY SPECIES:

Although the Adriatic doesn’t host the exotic fish and mindOctopus and blowing corals of other areas of the world it does have some crustaceans marine stars in its very clear waters. The many caves in the rocky shoreline conceal large octopus, which can sometimes be caught swimming in the open, as well as spider crabs, lobsters and hermit crabs. On the sandy floor, among the sea grass, you can find fan mussels that can grow to a metre in height. You can also see three types of turtle – loggerhead, green and leatherback – and some of the smaller shark species, as well as basking sharks.

Rare black coral is present, along with some most impressive fields of gorgonians – also known as sea whips or sea fans. The abundance of brilliant red gorgonians is testament to the cleanliness of the water as this species will not thrive where there is any pollution. There are also various species of those masters of camouflage, the scorpionfish, as well as the curious star gazer which hides in sand and silt and can inflict a very painful sting from its venomous spines.

Who can dive? From PADI Open Water or equivalent Who’ll guide you? Around 100 dive operators Anyone go from the UK? Scuba en Cuba (they also specialise in Croatia), Tel: 01895 624 100; www.scuba-en-cuba.com wildlifeextra.com

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Ultimate

DIVE DESTINATIONS AMERICAS

COZUMEL MEXICO The reefs that bounds the island of Cozumel were a favourite of pioneer diver Jacques Cousteau and the crew of the famous Calypso in the 60s, and it has become a mecca for divers from all over the world, particularly America. The whole gamut of tropical Caribbean species can be seen here on gentle drift dives, as well as rich forests of sea fans and sponge-encrusted caverns, fertile overhangs and towering coral mounds.

Eagle rays are common sights, as well as nurse sharks lying quietly under ledges.

Smaller life forms include arrow crabs, neon-coloured coneys, filefish and squirrelfish, as well as big schools of grunts and the pretty, but inelegantly named, pork fish.

The coral heads also offer shelter to enormous green morays that can reach 5ft in length, and large grouper that reach 4ft. In the darker recesses of coral caverns there can be hundreds of small, golden glassy sweepers hiding from predators.

One creature, which a trip to the island should not be without, is the splendid toadfish, as this is the only place in the world that it has been documented. Six inches long, flat and humbug striped with yellow fringes to the fins and a

The adult spotted drum

KEY SPECIES: Splendid toadfish wide, barbel-edged mouth, this strange little fish lives in crevices where the reef meets the sandy sea floor and croaks like a toad at night to attract a mate.

Who can dive? From PADI Open Water on Who’ll guide you? Over 100 dive outfits,

on an island 28 miles by 10 miles! Not all are reputable, though, so check for a certification given by the Asociatión National de Operadores de Actividades Acuáticas y Turísticas (ANOAAT) Anyone go from the UK? Regaldive, Tel: 01353 659 999; www.regal-diving. co.uk/mexico

BONAIRE DUTCH ANTILLES The reef on this small, southern Caribbean island runs within metres of the shore and there is virtually no current. The sea around Bonaire has been a protected marine zone since the early 70s and, as a result, its corals and fish life are outstanding. One regional speciality is the spotted drum, a fish that works through a range of shapes and colouring in its life, all of them beautiful. It starts as a tiny, black and white striped triangle with delicate flowing fins, and gradually morphs into a lozenge of chocolate and white stripes with black and white spots along its back and tail.

Bonaire also offers fantastic mushroom coral landscapes and tall purple vase sponges, frogfish, seahorses, very large green and honeycomb moray eels, enormous French angelfish and rainbow parrotfish. If you like big fish it can also offer tarpon, barracuda, and even the chance of a manta ray.

Who can dive? From complete novice onwards Who’ll guide you? Over a dozen operators, many based at hotels Anyone go from the UK? Bonaire Fun Travel, Tel: 01604 882 929; www.bonairefuntravel.co.uk

66 JULY 2014

KEY SPECIES: Reef fish & corals

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WORDS BY STELLA MARTIN

With its towering volcanic landscape, splendid seabirds and glorious coral reef it is little wonder that Australia’s remote, wildlife-rich Lord Howe Island is a World Heritage Area

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Trip Report

LORD HOWE ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

A flock of sooty terns stream past at eye level when you make the climb to the top of the island

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JULY 2014 69

Clockwise from left: a strenuous climb up the rocky peaks of the island is rewarded by a glorious view and great photo opportunities; the trusting and tasty woodhens almost became extinct for those two reasons; an aerial view of Lord Howe shows its varied habitats; a flock of flesh-footed shearwaters dive for fish; the sacred kingfisher; a shoal of three-stripe butterfly fish

THE SPEED LIMIT

ON LORD HOWE ISLAND IS

15 MILES AN HOUR.

70 JULY 2014

Lord Howe has borne the brunt of oceanic buffeting.

Just 2.5 per cent of the original volcano remains, an irregular 12km long crescent, embracing a tranquil lagoon. The central section has been reduced to low sandhills and beaches but to the north the land slopes up to formidable sea cliffs. The south is dominated by two massive basalt piles, Mounts Lidgbird and Gower, rising sheer from the ocean to 777m and 875m respectively.

At the top of Malabar Head, after a heart-exercising wildlifeextra.com

© IAN HUTTON,

There are two main reasons for this – the wobbling tourists on bicycles and the flightless woodhen, which has very little road sense.

We see one of these endangered and endemic birds as we leave the airport. An unassuming brown rail, it is rummaging around by the roadside, unaware that 30 years ago it was one of the rarest birds on the planet. It almost feels like cheating to see it so easily.

The woodhen must once have been able to fly. When the volcano that created Lord Howe Island erupted out of the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand nearly seven million years ago, it was about 600km from the nearest land. The plants and animals that eventually colonised this lump of lava had to be travellers.

The Lord Howe woodhen almost shared the fate of its close relative, the New Caledonian woodhen, unseen since the 1930s. When humans discovered the island in 1788 the woodhen was abundant, tasty and unafraid. A surgeon on one of the first ships to arrive described it as “ ... walking totally fearless and unconcern’d ... we had

nothing more to do than to stand still a minute or two and knock down as many as we please’d.”

Not surprisingly, by 1853 a visitor was unable to find any.

Also targeted by feral cats and pigs, by 1969 fewer than 30 woodhens remained, restricted to the inaccessible slopes of the highest mountains. In 1980, three pairs were brought to a captive breeding centre and by 1984, following the removal of cats and pigs, more than 90 woodhens had been released. It is now estimated that over 200 live on the island and they can be seen easily, probing for invertebrates in the forests and continuing to pay little heed to the humans that once brought them so close to extinction.

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JULY 2014 71

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Trip Report

LORD HOWE ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

A white tern offers sand eels to its hungry chick

attracting more breeding species, in greater numbers, than anywhere else in Australia.

The beaches and rocky shores are thronged with sooty terns, many with offspring masquerading as balls of brown fluff; these summer visitors are known as ‘wide-awake birds’ for the screaming cacophony they produce 24/7. Nearby, common noddies select seaweed scraps to build nests in ocean-view shrubs and, at North Bay, we find black noddies carrying their seaweed booty to nests high in the branches of Norfolk Island pine trees.

200m climb, we have a front row seat for the red-tailed tropicbird spectacular. Every year these streamlined white seabirds showcase their aerial abilities when nesting on Lord Howe’s northern cliffs. They sail past us, the filamentous red tail streamers for which they are named switching like rudders to adjust their swooping trajectories. Pairs fly in perfect tandem, sometimes suddenly reversing their wings to fly backwards.

This oceanic island is a haven for nesting seabirds,

These introduced trees now host breeding colonies of one of the most endearing and approachable of all the seabirds, white terns. Almost pure white, with large black eyes, they lay their speckled eggs directly on the bare branches of the Norfolk Island pines which line the shoreline of Lord Howe’s modest town centre.

Many of the brooding birds sit within reach and, undeterred by their very pointy black beaks, the man from whom we hire bicycles stretches up and strokes one sitting on a tree limb next to his shop. Elsewhere, advanced hatchlings sit tight, with parents flying in with beaks full of very tiny fish, untroubled by human observers.

Much of the eastern side of the island is riddled with

Eratification

© IAN HUTTON

I

n 1921 the naturalist Alan McCulloch wrote, “But two short years ago the forests of Lord Howe Island were joyous with the notes of myriads of birds... Today, however, the ravages of rats... have made the note of a bird rare.”

With no native mammal predators, apart from a small bat, the local wildlife had few defences against these predators. Five species of endemic land birds had disappeared within 10 years and, as the rats ate eggs and chicks, as well as the invertebrates, fruits and shoots that fed other animals, at least 11 species of endemic beetle, snails and many other invertebrates, along with two plant species, also became extinct. Several types of seabird and the endemic stick insect retreated to offshore islands, and the local skink and gecko became rare.

Residents have long sought to control the

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When the steamship Makambo accidentally ran aground off Lord Howe Island in 1918 it was carrying a lethal cargo: black rats

rats – particularly those threatening the kentia palm industry – with poisoned baits.

But an ambitious plan is afoot to finally eradicate the rodents by broadcasting a second-generation rodenticide, brodifacoum, throughout the island. Modelled on successful rat eradications from 284 islands worldwide, the plan is to hand-bait the settled areas and, in rugged terrain, broadcast the poison from a helicopter in two drops made 14 days apart.

Cattle and chickens would be removed temporarily from the island to prevent accidental poisoning and a substantial percentage of

vulnerable endemic native birds – notably woodhens and currawongs – would be held in captivity during the 100 days required for the baits to completely break down. Seabirds don’t feed on land and so baiting would be done in winter when most are absent.

Some of the residents oppose the plan but those in favour are optimistic that the island forests could once again become places that are joyous with their birdsong.

JULY 2014 73

Clockwise from here: a masked booby keeps watch over its chick; the colourful toadstool rock cod; the world’s tallest stack, Balls Pyramid; a solitary flesh-footed shearwater

74 JULY 2014

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burrows of flesh-footed shearwaters. Better known as muttonbirds, they collect in offshore rafts in the late afternoon and, as the sun sets, circle closer to land. As the light fades they swoop over our heads until, one by one, they crash-land on the ground and scuttle past our feet towards their nesting burrows.

Some of the summer-nesting birds are still arriving. On Neds Beach a black-winged petrel zooms closer to the vegetated cliff faces as if plucking up courage to land. Eventually it does and we watch it staggering incompetently through the vegetation, perhaps searching for last year’s nesting burrow.

Offshore, rat-free islets are popular with nesting seabirds.

Muttonbird Point hosts a yearround colony of masked boobies, while Roach Island attracts thousands of birds, including several, such as wedge-tailed shearwaters, white-bellied storm petrels and grey ternlets, which avoid the main island. Although it is too rough to land, we are treated to a close view of the wheeling masses.

As our boat rounds the southern coast of the island, past the looming rock walls of Mounts Lidgbird and Gower, we spy in the distance what looks like an enchanted castle from Tolkein.

The world’s tallest stack, Balls Pyramid rises 2,500m from the

seafloor, the final 551m forming an extraordinary spire. This stronghold is the remaining natural home for the endemic giant phasmid, an enormous 14cm long stick insect. Wiped out by rats on the main island it was assumed to be extinct until rediscovered on Balls Pyramid in 2001.

A deep ocean trench and 23km of choppy water separate Balls Pyramid from Lord Howe Island. Those who making the crossing (often not possible) are rewarded with pelagic sightings of white-bellied storm petrels, flesh-footed and wedge-tailed shearwaters and, in winter, huge numbers of providence petrels. A major compensation for seasick-prone birders, it is also the only known Australian breeding site for the Kermadec petrel. Balls Pyramid also features on the wish list of experienced divers who may find a range of open water fishes, including marlin, wahoo, and the ballina angelfish, normally not found above 100m.

Far from polluting rivers and coasts, the sea around Lord Howe Island is gin-clear and, thanks to a southward sweeping East Australian Current, warm enough for the larvae of tropical corals and fish which hitch a ride to flourish. Over 90 species of coral and 500 of fish are found here.

I live right next to the Great Barrier Reef, so when we board a glass-bottomed boat for snorkelling in the lagoon my

© IAN HUTTON

This oceanic island is a haven for breeding seabirds, attracting more species than anywhere else in Australia

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Trip Report

LORD HOWE ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

expectations are not high – but I’m astonished. Corals on the world’s most southerly reef are abundant and teeming with tropical fish. Some are familiar but many are new; the double header wrasse and McCulloch’s anemonefish are among 13 endemic species. Turtles also frequent the lagoon and our guide points out Houdini, a huge green turtle.

Then there is the diving. Although the coral at depth is not abundant, we cruise through rocky canyons inhabited by dense schools of swirling striped catfish, cruising semi-circular angelfish, orange-spined urchins and big blotchy seastars. Painted crays peer from under rock ledges and toothsome moray eels watch warily from their lairs.

We spend much of our week walking the 20km or so of short and long trails. Over 50 plant species on this small island are endemic, including four palms that lend a tropical feel to the temperate forests. One, the kentia palm, has been exported in large numbers, and is familiar in offices and homes around the world. In places spreading groves of entangled giant banyan trees form intriguing, gothic labyrinths, and on higher slopes flowering mountain rose bushes are covered with scarlet pompoms.

In addition to the ubiquitous woodhen, three other endemic land birds – the Lord Howe currawong, white-eye and golden whistler – keep us company. Along with other long-time natives, notably the lovely emerald dove, they are remarkably confiding.

As we are driven back to the airport we scan the small swamp behind the runway, a popular site for ducks and migratory waders escaping the northern winter. Among the busy, prodding bar-tailed godwits and ruddy turnstones we spot a Pacific golden plover still partially clothed in breeding plumage and being mobbed by another for his audacity.

You see a lot when the speed limit is 15 miles an hour.

COST RATING SAMPLE PACKAGE TOUR: Each year Lord Howe Island Nature Tours runs special week-long tours such as Birdweek – a seven-night package departing in November and March with local naturalist Ian Hutton, which costs from £1442. This includes return QantasLink flights from Sydney, Brisbane or Port Macquarie, accommodation, all evening meals, boat tours, daily supervised walks and evening slide talks.

Bookings can be made through Oxley Travel at www.oxleytravel.com.au.

Return flights from London airports 76 JULY 2014

to Sydney or Brisbane will cost from around £770.

GETTING THERE: QantasLink flies from Sydney on most days, and from Brisbane at weekends. A weekly service is also available from Port Macquarie from February to June, and September to December.

Flight time is about two hours.

VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK: British passport holders can apply on-line for free, three-month tourist visas: www.immi.gov.au/e_ visa/evisitor.htm

TIPS & WARNINGS: Only 400 visitors are permitted on the island at any one time. If you are travelling

independently make sure to book accommodation at the same time as your flights. For more info visit www. lordhoweisland.info.

Accommodation costs from £70/30 peak/off-peak per person per night with luxury options at £490/350. The weight limit on Lord Howe flights is 14kg per person of checked baggage and 4kg of hand luggage. Flights are sometimes unable to land on the island due to weather, so allow for this when booking onward travel.

WHEN TO GO: The driest months are November to February; winter months – June to August – can be wet and windy. Most summer-nesting seabirds have arrived by November, but March is a good to time to catch

winter breeders such as providence petrels, that arrive before summer breeders have left.

TOUR OPERATORS LORD HOWE NATURE TOURS, Tel: +61 2 6563 2447; www.ianhuttontours.com LORD HOWE ENVIRONMENTAL TOURS, Tel: +61 2 6563 2214; www.lordhoweislandtours.com MARINE ADVENTURES, Tel: +61 2 6563 2448; www.marineadventures.com.au ISLANDER CRUISES, Tel: +61 2 6563 2298/2021; www.islandercruises.com.au

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© IAN HUTTON

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ESSENTIAL BOTSWANA WHY?

© JOHAN SWANEPOEL/ALAMY

B

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otswana is one of the premier wildlife-watching destinations on earth. This is where the sands of the desert meet the waters of the delta, where predator and prey dance in the eternal battle. It’s the sort of place where your imagination takes you back to what Africa must have been like before human beings walked the earth and where the stuff of thrilling wildlife documentaries are everyday encounters.

Part of the country’s appeal for lovers of wildlife lies in the astonishing proliferation of large mammals in the Okavango Delta, where the topography is an endlessly shifting interaction between dry land and water. This is the domain of the black-maned lion, stalking across the golden grasses of the Kalahari, lord of all he surveys.

It is a world without horizons, one of the largest networks of salt pans on the planet. There are echoes of epic battles between lions and elephants on the plains of Savuti, and endless surprises lurking amid the kopjes of the Tuli Block.

If you’ve been on an African safari before you’ll immediately notice that Botswana is different.

That’s largely because Botswana is so… quiet.

Concerned about the potential pitfalls associated with mass tourism, the Botswana government long ago decided to focus on high-end tourism as a means of preserving its stunning natural environment.

Yes, it is possible to travel the country in a rented 4WD and camp out in the wilderness – but as you do so you’ll be struck by the emptiness of the roads and bush trails. It’s in the exclusive lodges, tented camps and private reserves (so remote that few can be reached by road) that the heart of Botswana’s safari experience can be found. You will be deep in the wilderness, surrounded by pristine natural habitat and having Africa’s most charismatic mega-fauna all to yourself.

You’ll notice it as you fly in over the delta and detect no signs of the human presence as far as the eye can see. Or it will hit home as you watch in unbearable suspense as a lion stalks a buffalo and there’s no other vehicle but your own in sight.

Welcome to Botswana, where the experience of wildlife watching is all about you, the animals and being in one of the wildest and quietest places to be found on the planet.

Left: a cheetah stalks in the game-rich grasslands of the Kalahari region of Botswana. Wildlife thrives thanks to the remoteness of the area and the lack of any human presence

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MY BOTSWANA PHILIP LEE HARVEY Photographer I love everything about the Okavango Delta but the best experience is travelling along the waterways in a mokoro, the wooden canoe that is the main mode of transport. It takes you into the world of the fishermen, the reed cutters and, best of all, the elephants. There are few experiences in nature more rewarding than drifting silently, photographing wild elephants on the shoreline and in the shallows – you can hear their feet flattening the long grass. Photographers are more used to noisy, high-angle experiences, diesel fumes, squeaky seats, and intrusive windscreens.

But in a mokoro it’s quiet, almost slow motion and at grass height. It forces me to be patient – instead of chasing wildlife, the wildlife just as often comes to me. www.philipleeharvey.com

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Okavango Delta The Okavango – even the name rolls around in the mouth in a very African way – is an African heartland of the highest order. Look at any satellite map of Africa and the Okavango Delta is one of the continent’s most curious features. It appears as a claw, clutching at the African interior as if searching in vain for an outlet to the sea.

The Okavango is one of the largest inland deltas on the planet and it owes its existence to rains that fall far away, in the highlands of Angola, in January and February. These rains feed down into the delta from March through to June. With very few hills, the delta’s waters fan out, slowly and inexorably, until they can go no further, halted by the dry wastes of the Kalahari Desert. The ebb and flow of the waters create a world that is constantly in motion, its islands and dry land never the same from one year to the next.

The waters reach their peak in July and

August, when the area submerged can be three times the size it is in the dry season.

The delta’s essential statistics are easy to recite – this watery world is home to more than 2,000 plant species, 450 bird species and 65 kinds of fish, not to mention an estimated 200,000 large mammals. But the story is much richer than even these impressive figures suggest.

Zoom in a little closer, and the Okavango shelters the fourth-largest lion population on the planet and 30 per cent of the world’s population of African wild dogs. The mixed habitat of islands, woodland and open savannah make it ideal hunting grounds for all of the big cats, and it provides a haven for countless herbivore species, from the aquatic sitatunga and red lechwe to elephants at every turn. The delta also offers rich pickings for birders – the Inner Delta is renowned as one of Africa’s most reliable places to see wildlifeextra.com

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© TIPS IMAGES, STEVE BLOOM IMAGES, IMAGES OF AFRICA, KARIN DUTHIE, JOHN WARBURTON-LEE PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY

species such as the elusive Pel’s fishing owl.

Remarkably, the Okavango Delta is protected more by its remoteness than by officially organised parks and reserves.

Although there is a growing patchwork of private concessions and conservancies, only the Moremi Game Reserve, which covers one-third of the delta, is government-run and protected.

Wherever you are in the Okavango, it’s the getting there that can be half the fun. The views from the lodges’ private aircraft or joy flights that ply over the delta are staggeringly beautiful. Walking safaris are often part of the package offered by the luxury camps, and everyone, regardless of budget, can drift silently along within clear sight of hippos and elephants in a dugout canoe that is known as a mokoro.

Whichever way you travel, it all adds up to one of the greatest wildlife shows on earth. wildlifeextra.com

Before they become part of the delta, the waters from Angola funnel down into Botswana by means of a narrow strip of swamps, vast reed beds and lagoons thick with papyrus.

This area is known as the Okavango Panhandle.

Although some of the delta’s wildlife is present here, the animals are far more elusive. So, instead, travellers come for the fantastic birdwatching – most delta species are found here but they’re concentrated into a 15km wide strip of land, making it easier to track them down. Fishing, too, is a highlight and big business here, with anglers coming from all over the world to catch tigerfish (right) from September to June, pike, barbel and catfish from mid-September to December, and bream. Accommodation ranges from campsites run by local cooperatives to comfortable riverbank fishing lodges without the price tags found elsewhere across the Inner Delta.

Clockwise from far left: an aerial view of the delta with its proliferation of wildlife; a threatening hippo rises out of the water; Chapman’s zebras drinking at the Kwai River; the exaggerated meanders of a river flowing through the delta

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ESSENTIAL BOTSWANA WHERE? Giraffe in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

© LUCA ROGGERO/ALAMY

MY BOTSWANA ANDY RAGGETT Drive Botswana The Kalahari has the ability to surprise you. A couple of years ago I was with friends in a remote campsite in the middle of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

We hadn’t seen much wildlife by the time we set up camp to the familiar sounds of barking geckos and black korhaans. After sunset we lit a few paraffin lamps and cooked dinner. While we were eating we noticed a moving shadow by the Land Rover, and shone our torches on a magnificent leopard, which promptly lay down by the vehicle. After a half minute of stunned silence it moved off into the bush. We were thrilled, but regretted not taking the video camera off the back seat before our guest arrived… www.drivebotswana.com

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Kalahari The Kalahari is the arid heart of southern Africa, the largest unbroken stretch of sand on the planet and the arid alter ego to all those greens and blues up in the Okavango Delta.

For all its sand, the Kalahari is an atypical desert. This is a land of ancient, fossilised river valleys that lead into chains of salt pans, where waters haven’t flowed in decades in some places, in millennia in others. It is a land of swaying grasses and shimmering white dust bowls watched over by the massed ranks of dense thorn scrub and thinly spaced acacia.

Close to one thousand lions are thought to inhabit the Kalahari, and you’ll also find leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, giraffe, gemsbok and numerous species of hyena.

For the most part, they find refuge in the three parks and reserves that run like a nearly unbroken chain through the Kalahari. In the heart of the country, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is roughly as large as Denmark

and, at 52,000 sq km (more than 20,000 sq m), is one of Africa’s largest protected areas.

Although wildlife densities are low, a host of desert-adapted species thrive, among them gemsbok, springbok, bat-eared foxes, jackals and the loping brown hyenas. Eland inhabits the fringes while ostrich and kori bustard, our heaviest flying bird species, are common.

Most of the trails through the park pass through the former river valleys of Passarge and Deception – the latter is where much of the book Cry of the Kalahari is set. I once spent an entire day in the Passarge Valley, watching cheetah, communing with lions, without seeing another vehicle or human being.

Even so, it’s the empty trails of the reserve’s south that are the Kalahari’s true wilderness.

Go far enough south and you’ll be in the smaller, contiguous Khutse Game Reserve.

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ESSENTIAL BOTSWANA WHERE?

h K tse u roams among the 60 mineralised clay pans that once belonged to Africa’s largest inland lake. ‘Khutse’ means ‘where one kneels to drink’ in the local dialect, but water exists only as an echo of a long-distant past.

South again, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park shares the southern Kalahari with South Africa – the Botswana part was once called MabuasehubeGemsbok National Park. Here in Kgalagadi, unlike elsewhere in the Kalahari, there are sand dunes to bring aesthetic relief from the unbroken wastes that gave the land its name – ‘Kgalagadi’ means ‘Land of Thirst’. Birds, too, are a Kgalagadi specialty, with over 250 bird species recorded in this fine wilderness.

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isAbove: a herd of spike bucks in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

Below: Two male lions in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Amid the wide empty horizons of the Trans-Kalahari Highway, the small village of D’Kar is a centre for the San people who were controversially relocated from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (right).

The Kuru Art Project is an impressive initiative that supports local San artists, many of whom are women and whose work ranges from paintings to linoleum woodcuts. Animal and other traditional African motifs (below, left) strongly evoke the Kalahari world of the San, andh ealthough most of the m o works are sold to museums around the world, many can also be bought at the small gallery on site (www. kuruart.com). Two of the local camps – Dqae Qare Game Farm (dqae.org) and Grassland Safari Lodge (grasslandlodge.com) – have a strong San component to their activities, including safari walks with San guides.

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© F1ONLINE DIGITALE BILDAGENTUR GMBH, FRIEDRICHSMEIER, GARY COOK, KEVIN SCHAFER/ALAMY

While you’re there...

ESSENTIAL BOTSWANA WHERE?

While you’re there...

nothing compared to the discomfort sinking down to your axles in the salt and sludge.

Such events are possible at any time (a good reason to always get local advice before venturing out), but driving is particularly perilous during or just after the rains.

Only part of the pans is protected by a national park – Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans National Park – whose two constituent elements are separated by the two-lane A3 Highway. Nxai Pan has in recent years acquired a reputation for being one of Botswana’s best places for cheetah sightings, with elephants and all manner of gazelles regularly sighted against a backdrop of umbrella acacias. South of the highway, the

Boteti River has again begun to flow in recent years, and the riverbank and its hinterland now draws abundant wildlife to them in the dry season that runs from May to October.

But with the rains beating down from December to April, and paying no heed at all to park boundaries, one of Africa’s least-known but most spectacular migrations begins. Zebra and wildebeest march out onto the pans, heading east, followed inevitably by hungry predators.

It may not rival the Serengeti in terms of numbers, but it’s still extremely impressive.

And best of all, in this country you’re likely to have it all to yourself.

On Sowa Pan, at the eastern end of the northern Kalahari salt pan network, lies the Nata Bird Sanctuary, one of Africa’s least-known and most underrated birding spots.

Some 165 bird species have been recorded here among the zebras, jackals and antelopes. Waterbirds are a speciality, though they don’t have a monopoly – carmine and blue-cheeked beeeaters (above), kingfishers, martial and black-breasted eagles, secretary birds and kori bustards are year-round residents. And things get really interesting when the rains arrive. That’s when the Nata River begins to flow, drawing Hottentot (right) and Cape teals, white and pink-backed pelicans, lesser and greater flamingos.

Watching the latter against the backdrop of the pans, where water and salt merge into one shimmering, hallucinatory void, is one of Botswana birding’s most memorable experiences.

Clockwise from far left: Cheetahs in the early morning at Nxai Pan; a lioness stalks springbok; blue wildebeest gallop across the dry Boteti riverbed

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ESSENTIAL BOTSWANA WHERE? Here: A herd of elephants, some of the 71,000 that inhabit the National Park, enjoys the cooling waters of the Chobe Riverfront.

Below: an African fish eagle

©AFRIPICS.COM, IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY

Savuti & Chobe Riverfront

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There is an epic quality to Savuti and Chobe Riverfront. Their landscapes, both of which fall within the vast Chobe National Park, are quintessential African terrain – the former is an archetype of semi-arid savannah with flat-topped acacia silhouetted against the blood-red setting sun, the latter is a natural amphitheatre set up for watching wildlife from both the land and the water.

Savuti, to which the waters of the Savuti Channel miraculously returned in 2008 after an absence of 26 years, is reliable leopard and lion country. And these are some of the most formidable of the species on the planet. It was the lions of Savuti who became famed for hunting elephants – anyone who has seen Dereck and Beverly Joubert’s Ultimate Enemies, with its footage of lion prides bringing down subadult elephants, will know that this is one of nature’s most compelling encounters. The large free-standing rock monoliths not far from the channel –

among them Gobabis Hill and Leopard Rock – and the marshes found in Savuti’s south are also the ideal habitat for lions and leopards.

If big cats hold sway in Savuti, along the Chobe Riverfront, just up the sandy trail from Savuti, it’s the elephants who rule. No-one knows for sure, but the last estimate suggested that an astonishing 71,000 elephants inhabit Chobe National Park. Pound for pound, these are some of the largest elephants on the planet. And a fairly high proportion of these, at some stage in their peregrinations, come down to the riverfront to drink.

The Riverfront is altogether different from Savuti, but it, too, carries echoes of much-loved African landforms. Hippos and Nile crocodiles lurk with menace in the reedy shallows. On land, large buffalo herds reinforce Chobe’s reputation for heavy herbivores, while even giraffes draw near, stooping to drink in ungainly fashion. And not far away, lions and leopards watch and wait in the shadows.

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ESSENTIAL BOTSWANA WHERE? Here: a nile crocodile at Mashatu Game Reserve. Below: a leopard poses obligingly for the cameraman.

Bottom: a wood sandpiper

As far east as you can go in Botswana without stumbling into South Africa or Zimbabwe, and far removed from well-worn safari trails, the Tuli Block is an unusual wildlife destination. Private wildlife concessions share the land with small-farm freeholdings along the west bank of the Limpopo River. In some places, these concessions extend barely 10 to 15km into Botswana from the riverbank. Only in the north, in the larger Northern Tuli Game Reserve, is there anything approaching a large-scale habitat where wildlife can roam freely.

And yet, in spite of this flimsy patchwork of protected areas interspersed with farms, wildlife somehow flourishes in an area that runs almost 300km from north to south. Elephants are a highlight, many of the family groups having found refuge here from rampant poaching across the border in Zimbabwe. There’s 92 JULY 14

also kudu, wildebeest and impalas as well as lions, cheetahs, leopards and hyenas.

More than 350 bird species have also been recorded here.

But as much as the wildlife, it’s the landscape, unlike any other in Botswana, that is the attractionof this area. Within sight of the riverbank, the terrain and colour palette of reds and browns call to mind Utah or the Australian Outback.

Boulders, piled high, frame exceptional sunsets, alongside seasonal water courses that trickle down into the Limpopo, with wildlife drawing near to drink and to hunt.

There are plans for a larger reserve, for the joining up of the concessions to one day form a new and uninterrupted game reserve that may even connect with protected areas across the borders.

Until then, the Tuli Block remains one Botswana’s most unlikely wildlife success stories.

© ARIADNE VAN ZANDBERGEN/ALAMY

Tuli Block

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Forget the Big Five, here are Botswana’s Big Seven to look out for during a safari

Ones to watch 94 JULY 2014

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ESSENTIAL BOTSWANA WHAT?

Ostrich

Struthio camelus australis The southern African subspecies of ostrich is most commonly seen in the Kalahari and open arid country elsewhere, such as Savuti and the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans area. It is also known to inhabit the Tuli Block and Okavango Delta. The ostrich is the largest bird species on earth, and it can reach speeds of up to 70km/h when under threat, making it the fastest two-legged animal in the world. Its keen eyesight and good hearing mean it can both see and hear lions and other predators from a great distance, which is why it is rarely seen in woodland areas where the signs of the presence of predators are more easily concealed. If unable to escape, ostriches may lie down with their necks flat along the ground.

Spotting tip: If you see an ostrich running at speed, turn immediately to look where it came from – chances are that there’s a lion or leopard not far away.

Panthera leo Kalahari male lions are renowned for their dark, luxuriant manes encircled by a distinctive blond ring – the reason for such a mane in such a hot climate remains a mystery. Kalahari prides have the largest home territories (1,080 square miles) and have one of the most fluid social structures of any lions on earth. During the dry season, lions in the Kalahari have been known to abandon pride life for a nomadic existence, sometimes even joining up temporarily with other prides. And if you’re witness to a Kalahari lion hunt, watch closely – they have the highest hunting success rate (38.5%) of any lions in Africa. All three of the Kalahari’s main reserves have large lion populations, with the river valleys and salt pans of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and the central and northern reaches of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve fairly reliable lion-spotting terrain.

But lions are possible in all of the areas we cover here.

Spotting tip: Studies have found that the human ear may only hear a roar from as far away as four kilometres. So if you can hear them roar, they may be closer than you think. Also check vehicle trails for footprints where they can be easier to see in the dust - lions often use such trails on their nightly marches through their territory. wildlifeextra.com

© MARTIN HARVEY, FRANK LANTING STUDIO/ALAMY

Lion

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© ARCO IMAGES GMBH, NATHAN AND ELAINE VAESSEN/ALAMY

African Buffalo

Syncerus caffer No-one really knows where this lugubrious creature (also called the Cape buffalo) comes from – it is related neither to domestic cattle nor Asian buffalo species. It is also one of the most formidable creatures of the African wild as it weighs in at around a tonne. It usually moves in large groups and has been known to kill lions and other creatures that get in its way. Its horns, up to a meter across, are fused across its forehead.

The African buffalo has adapted to a wide range of habitats – only in desert regions are they absent, as they must drink every day. In Botswana, the buffalo’s heartland is the Okavango Delta, Savuti and Chobe.

They’re also present in the Tuli Block, although sightings are less common than in the country’s north.

Spotting tip: Chief’s Island and the Duba region of the Inner Okavango Delta are where the most famous footage of buffaloes has been filmed for wildlife documentaries, and their encounters with lions often take place within sight of the luxury lodges there.

Gemsbok

Oryx gazella Just about anywhere you go in the Kalahari, you’re likely to encounter this most elegant of creatures – it’s the area’s most striking herbivore and the largest of the world’s oryx species. It is believed that it was its extravagantly curved horns, when seen side-on, that were largely responsible for legend of the unicorn. In the Kalahari, gemsbok live in groups of up to 40 individuals and their size (up to 300kg or 660lbs) means that few predators other than lions can bring one down. Vulnerable to attack from behind, gemsbok defend themselves by backing into a thicket of bushes and presenting their formidable horns to those who would hunt them.

They are the most prevalent form of large antelope in the Central Kalahari, Khutse and Kgalagadi reserves, with some also straying up into Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans.

Spotting tip: Gemsbok prefer the open country but usually stay within sight of thickets on the fringes of the salt pans that punctuate the Kalahari, particularly around sunrise or sunset when lions are most likely to be hunting.

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Elephant Loxodonta Africana Botswana is one of the last great refuges for elephants in Africa and no country on earth has more of the animals within its borders. An estimated 130,000 elephants wander across the land, with more than half of these in Chobe National Park alone. Elephants are also present in great numbers all across the Okavango Delta, and with relatively high densities to be found in the Tuli Block. They inhabit only the fringes of the Kalahari and the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans – this is a creature that drinks up to 300 litres of water every day and there are no such supplies in the desert. The ivory-poaching holocaust that is sweeping South Africa and elsewhere has, thankfully, yet to significantly affect Botswana, not least because the country’s elephant habitat is often remote and difficult to access.

Spotting tip: Sit in wait by the water’s edge anywhere along Chobe Riverfront in late afternoon .

The setting sun will turn the whole riverbank to gold and give you some of the best elephant photos you can imagine.

Botswana is one of the last great refuges for elephants in Africa and no country has more within its borders 98 JULY 2014

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ESSENTIAL BOTSWANA WHAT?

© ARIADNE VAN ZANDBERGEN, AFRIPICS.COM/ALAMY

Sitatunga Tragelaphus spekii Arguably Botswana’s most curious inhabitant, this splay-hoofed, medium-sized swamp antelope is southern Africa’s wetland specialist. Perfectly adapted to the watery terrain of the Okavango Delta, particularly in the delta’s north-east, the sitatunga has a shaggy, water-resistant coat and can escape predators by manoeuvring quickly over soft mud and soggy, submerged plant life. It is also an adept swimmer and, when frightened, will ‘do the hippo’ and submerge itself almost entirely beneath the water, with just two tiny nostrils in view above the surface. Males are much larger than females, have a mane and grow horns.

Spotting tip: The sitatunga is easily confused with the far more common waterbuck, but it has a shaggier coat and the female sitatunga has a coat that is more rufous-red than can be seen on the waterbuck.

African wild dog Lycaon pictus One of Africa’s most charismatic predators, the African wild dog (also known as the Cape hunting dog) lives in packs of up to 28 animals and has one of the highest success rates (up to 70 per cent) of any predator in Africa. It is also highly endangered – as few as 3,000 and no more than 5,300 survive in the wild, spread thinly across 14 countries. Onethird of these inhabit the Okavango Delta.

Although their numbers are dwindling elsewhere, small populations also inhabit the Tuli Block and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

Spotting tip: The Linyanti Marshes, north of Savuti in the delta’s north-east are widely considered the best place in Botswana to see the species.

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Factfile COUNTRY FACTS Location: Southern Africa Capital City: Gaborone Terrain: Mostly flat with a mix of desert, arid savannah, light woodland and delta Highest point: Otse Hill (1,489m), near Gaborone Population: 2.16 million Most widely spoken languages: Setswana, San Currency: Botswana pula (the name means ‘rain’ or ‘blessing’ in Setswana) Time zone: Central African Time Zone; GMT/UTC plus two hours Flight time from UK: 13-14 hours Visas: 30 to 90-day visas issued on arrival for free for UK and most other passport holders Vaccinations: hepatitis A, tetanus, typhoid, yellow fever (if arriving from infected area); malaria not usually a problem but can be an issue in the north during the rainy season CLIMATE The rainy season runs from December to April, give or take a month at each end, with the dry season the rest of the year WHEN TO GO June to August: generally fine weather, cold nights, most trails open and good wildlife watching December to April: good for zebra migration in Makgadikgadi, but getting around is difficult September & October: extremely hot with wildlife concentrated around waterholes TIPS & WARNINGS Medical facilities in remote areas basic to nonexistent Know your blood group and carry a sterile medical kit, including surgical needles If venturing into remote areas alone, always notify someone of your intended itinerary and carry a satellite phone at all times LODGES & CAMPS OKAVANGO DELTA Eagle Island Camp – remote, luxury outpost in the Inner Delta. www.belmondsafaris.com Mombo Camp – Arguably the premier delta camp on wildlife-rich Chief’s Island. www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Third Bridge Camp Site – For self-drivers in the heart of Moremi. www.xomaesites.com KALAHARI Kalahari Plains Camp – the Kalahari’s most luxurious and blissfully remote digs. www.wilderness-safaris.com 100 JULY 2014

Savuti & Chobe DAY 5-7 ■ Riverside camps, rocky outcrops and open plains ■ Lion, leopard and elephants

Classic Itinerary

Makgadikgadi DAY 8-9 ■ Salt pans, baobabs and luxury tented camps ■ Zebra, wildebeest and big cats

Chobe National Park Moremi Game Reserve

Okavango Delta DAY 1-4 ■ Luxury lodges; remote camps; boat, walking and 4WD safaris ■ Lion, elephant, buffalo, wild dogs

Maun

Nxai Pan National Park

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Serowe Khutse Game Reserve

GABORONE Mabuasehube Game Reserve

Kalahari DAY 10-12 ■ Desert wilderness, ancient river valleys ■ Black-maned lions, leopard, gemsbok

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

A 12-day expedition through Botswana’s wildlife heartland is like inhabiting your own BBC natural history documentary Deception Valley Camp Sites – self-drivers have prime position in Central Kalahari Game Reserve. www.bigfoottours.co.bw !Xaus Lodge – run by the San community and the essence of Kgalagadi isolation. www.xauslodge.co.za MAKGADIKGADI & NXAI PANS Uncharted Africa – three luxury tented camps on the pans of Makgadikgadi. www.unchartedafrica.com Leroo-La-Tau – luxury lodge overlooking the Boteti River. www.desertdelta.com South Camp and Baines Baobab Camps – self-drivers have some of the best views in Nxai Pans. www.xomaesites.com SAVUTI & CHOBE Camp Savuti – entry-level luxury overlooking the river with lower-than-average prices. www.sklcamps.com Chobe Game Lodge – Exclusive lodge with views over Chobe River. www.chobegamelodge.com

TULI BLOCK Wild at Tuli – intimate tented camp located on an island in the middle of the Limpopo. www.wildattuli.com Mashatu Game Reserve – one of the largest Tuli concessions with stunning accommodation. www.mashatu.com MORE INFORMATION www.botswanatourism.co.bw TOUR OPERATORS Nature Trek, Tel: 01962 733 051; www.naturetrek.co.uk Expert Africa, Tel: 020 8232 9777; www.expertafrica.com Wildlife Worldwide, Tel: 0845 130 6982; www.wildlifeworldwide.com Tribes Tailormade Travel, Tel: 01473 890 499; www.tribes.co.uk wildlifeextra.com

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Sunway Safaris’ Central Kalahari If you have always dreamt of a true wilderness experience, combining adventure and wildlife, look no further than Botswana for the ultimate African camping safari

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Cost rating: *** Sample package tour: Sunway Safaris is offering a 19-day small group specialist wildlife tour in Botswana, with a focus on the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, for ÂŁ2,107 pp, plus US$300 local payment, and excluding flights. The camping tour includes: San Bushman experience, Central Kalahari, Nxai Pan & Baines Baobabs, Okavango Delta, Moremi, Chobe, Victoria Falls Getting there: Regular flights can be taken from the UK to Johannesburg in South Africa on a variety of airlines. Flight time is 11hrs. A further 2hr flight is required from Johannesburg to Maun in Botswana. Flights are easy to organise, and run daily.

VISA requirements: British passport holders will be issued with a 90 day travel visa on arrival in both South Africa and Botswana.

Tips & Warnings: You will need malaria medication even though it is a low risk area. Summer is hot with temperatures reaching mid 30°C. Winter mornings and evenings are cold but days are warm and sunny.

When to go: Peak season for Central Kalahari Game Reserve is January through May as the rains attract large herds of wildebeest, springbok, zebra and gemsbok (oryx). Botswana is an all-yearround destination.

Tour operator: Sunway Safaris Tel:+27 114 654 905 www.sunway-safaris.com

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Theknowledge Your wildlife travel survival guide

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

Set up a camera trap Camera traps can be used to get some brilliant shots of wildlife if you follow some simple tips, says wildlife filmmaker and blogger Mike Mottram

T

he great thing about camera traps is they do all the filming for you, so you can be tucked up in bed while they monitor the selected location for any action. All you have to do is pick your site, viewpoint and settings, sit back and wait for the results to come in.

Here and below: a badger, picked up on its nightly foraging; a great crested grebe on its nest

■ Camera traps can be left for days, weeks or months depending on their battery life and the size of the memory card. Capture settings and the number of times the camera is triggered can also affect how long you can monitor an area. I recommend an external battery and a 16GB or more memory card.

■ Before mounting your camera trap on a tree, tripod or wooden post you need to pick the best location to capture wildlife passing by.

Look for signs of animal activity from droppings, footprints and food remains, or well-used mammal paths that different species follow in order to move between areas. However, be careful filming near bird nests as any disturbance can affect the birds’ behaviour and cause them to abandon the nest.

■ To get the best view I advise putting the camera onto the photograph mode and then triggering it yourself. You can then review the image on your laptop/pc and adjust your camera trap settings accordingly.

■ On windy days it is best to set your camera trap in areas without trees or away from any objects that could be blown about by the wind, as this could set off the camera’s

movement trigger and use up your memory and power unnecessarily. If you’re not careful there may be no power or memory left when an animal does pass by.

■ Once you have your camera trap set up, try leaving some food in front of it to tempt passersby into the camera’s view and keep them there. Although camera traps have motion triggers, they have different trigger speeds and it would be shame to miss the action because of that. For example, some take longer than others to activate the recording function, and so you may not get a good photograph or any footage if the animal has been in and out of the scene too fast for the camera to get itself into gear.

■ The most exciting part of using camera traps is going to retrieve the footage, as you never know what you might have got. I started using these devices in my own garden to film hedgehogs and after a few years I moved on to local wild places as well as on holiday. Even after using them for more than six years, I still get the same buzz I did at the start.

■ Be aware that if you place your camera trap in a public area you risk it being stolen. Many people I know have lost theirs so I recommend just using your own garden or a neighbour’s for filming. If you do plan to do want to put one in a public place it might be a good idea to invest in a lockable security bracket for it. www.mikemottram.co.uk

Have you ever used a camera trap? Share your images or stories with us by emailing them to editorial@wildtravelmag.com wildlifeextra.com

JULY 2014 103

Theknowledge

Skills

Stay happy, healthy and wise on your wildlife-watching adventures with the help of our expert mini-guides

Insider’s guide to...

Ageing a cetacean Telling the age of whales and dolphins is not the easiest thing to do, says Stephen Marsh from charity ORCA, but there are clues if you look carefully

L

ength can be used as an indicator in the wild when the animals are young but, of course, you need to know the species and growth rates.

In some species there may be other visual clues, though. Risso’s dolphin calves are born a very dark brown, almost black, but become streaked with white with age. This change in colouration is due to social interaction, when they scrape each other with their teeth. The more interaction they have, the whiter their skins become.

The northern bottlenose whale’s melon, the area in front of the blowhole (almost like a forehead), becomes bigger as it grows older and in large males can actually be found forward of its beak.

Very often the patterning in some dolphins becomes more distinct with age.

The common dolphin as a young animal has quite a blurry edge to its colouration but with age the distinctive hourglass pattern becomes more apparent.

Ultimately, the closest you’ll get to the true age is from a post mortem, though. As with many animals, a dolphin’s teeth can be counted to help estimate their age. While very young cetaceans have a comb-like structure on the edge of their tongues that helps them hold on to their mother’s teat when suckling, this will smooth out when they are weaned.

Many whales have waxy plugs in their ears that can be cut in half and the layers reveal how long it has lived. Chemical analysis of these plugs can even show levels of toxins and pollutants the animal has encountered throughout its life.

So next time you wonder how to tell the age of a whale, the answer is: it isn’t easy!

ABOUT ORCA ORCA trains people from all walks of life to record cetacean sightings and environmental data on regular ferry and cruise ship surveys.

It also has an educational programme and runs whale watching trips on the Brittany Ferries ship Pont Aven in summer in the Bay of Biscay. Stephen Marsh runs an ‘Identification Special’ trip from 9-11 September and naturalist Chris Packham will co-host on 16-18 September. www.orcaweb.org.uk

DIY guide

Make your own nature reserve Size doesn’t matter in a wildlife reserve, says Anna Guthrie from the Wildlife Trust If you have any size of area - from windowbox to entire estate - to create your own nature reserve, there’s a basic formula for success: ■ Look at how your land links to the wider network of wildlife corridors and important local sites for wildlife. Maybe it borders woodland, which you could help extend by planting similar native trees; or perhaps your neighbour has a species-rich native hedge you could link up to and expand.

■ Survey your site really thoroughly before you do anything, to find out what lives there already and how it is using the site, as it is better to improve and add to habitats that are already there. If you have a pond or area of wetland, make it bigger and better to

104 JULY 2014

encourage species such as amphibians and water birds to thrive.

■ Decide on what species it would be realistic to attract to the site and what is already there that could have its population enhanced. It could be common or rare species, but whatever it is is will be important locally.

■ Draw up a long-term plan which includes maintaining the site and monitoring it. You might create new areas of habitat, restore existing habitats or perhaps leave some areas wild and untouched. Things to include in your plan are new areas of habitat you wish to create, like a wildflower meadow or a pond.

■ Finally, seek expert advice! Your local Wildlife Trust is a good place to start. www.wildlifetrusts.org

wildlifeextra.com

Theknowledge

Volunteering Safety first Volunteering to work with wildlife may be exciting, but don’t forget to take care of your safety too, writes Steve Gwenin from GVI

V

olunteering as an industry is still relatively young, although it is now starting to mature. The more established organisations have learned from collective experiences and now have better practices. The development of recommended British Standards has helped organisations to identify areas of risk and work to reduce them. The volunteering sector however is extremely international, and so this set of standards do not apply for many organisations.

Volunteering can be a thrilling adventure, but safety should not take a back seat.

BS 8848 is the British Standard for organising and managing visits, fieldwork, expeditions, and adventurous activities outside the UK, with the aim of reducing the risk of injury or illness for travellers while away. Travellers should research organisations and their attitude towards safety measures before travelling.

The standards have been criticised in some quarters for being unwieldy to comply with in full. It is also British Standard for overseas travel, which some organisations have found difficult to consistently apply at an international level.

Many organisations that say they comply use self-assessment, which does not necessarily tell the whole story, however there is talk of the potential to develop a new international standard in the future.

Challenges of working overseas

Volunteering is challenging for almost all participants. Both physically and mentally there are draining moments among the wonderful adventures. Firstly, getting there safely is important. Find out about airport transfers and how you are going to reach the organisation’s base. If you need to find your own way in an unknown country can the organisation recommend the safest way to get there? Are there particular areas to avoid; are their local

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www.thegreatprojects.com

Project profile

Voluntourism

Maintaining standards

SPONSORED BY

customs to be aware of? Regarding the different species you will be encountering, how much training is provided? Physical fitness should also be considered. Are you going to be able to deal with strenuous work or manual labour in tropical climes?

Questions to ask before you book

Ask for as many details as you can from the organisation regarding safety. You need to know that measures are in place to ensure that you will be taken care of during your visit. Ask them whether they have their qualified and experienced staff on the ground, who understand and apply their own safety measures consistently? Are there risk assessments? Do they record incidents and re-assess the risks? Do they have Plan Bs in place in case events increase the risks within Plan A? In spite of the risks involved in monitoring potentially dangerous animals in hostile environments, often the largest threats and incidents are related to more everyday issues, such as transportation or personal attack.

Find out what measures are in place for all eventualities to ensure the organisation is able to support you should the need arise.

Steve Gwenin is Chief Executive of GVI, who run a number of projects, including high impact volunteering, internships and programs for school groups and younger volunteers. See www.gvi.co.uk

Saving turtles Pavlos Tsaros of Archelon Rescue Center talks about their turtle volunteering programme Tell us about the project Archelon is a Greek NGO that has been working in the field for the last 30 years. The rescue centre is only one part of a larger movement. We have 10 different projects running all over the country at the same time. The charity serves three purposes: recording all dead turtles found in Greece; rehabilitating all injured turtles; and educating children about the country’s environmental issues.

What is your role?

I am the rescue centre coordinator. My job is to collect all injured turtles. I also train volunteers to treat turtles and collaborate with our veterinary surgeon on the centre’s rehabilitation procedures.

My favourite oart of the job is the moment when we release a turtle. I always feel worried, hoping it will have a safe life, but I’m very happy to see it swim away, free in its environment. Animals belong in nature.

What about the volunteering?

We need volunteers to run all our projects and they generally come for four to six weeks.

They are expected to take an active part in the rehabilitation procedure. It is really a very hands-on project. They are also expected to participate in our environment and public awareness programme.

What is a typical volunteer’s 24 hours?

This depends on what needs to be done, but the work is usually from 8am-1pm for about five days a week.

The public awareness part is concentrated on the weekend, but if someone who is interested shows up, we generally show them around anytime.

Who should apply to volunteer?

Anyone can apply; you just need to be 18 years of age or above, have a month or more free to come here, and be ready to work hard.

The participation cost for a volunteer at the Archelon Rescue Center is €250. http://www.archelon.gr/index_eng.php JULY 2014 105

Theknowledge

Bookshop 5 minutes with...

Ed Gillespie Former marine biologist turned environmentalist, Ed Gillespie, talks to Wild Travel about the adventure-filled journey around the world that inspired his new book Only Planet How did the book come about?

It’s based on my 2007/8 flight-free, round-the-world-trip I undertook with a view to rediscovering the sense of adventure that comes with overland travel; moving through the world rather than just over it.

How would you describe it?

First, it’s an adventure story, about all the marvellous, unpredictable and wonderful things that happen to you when you stay grounded. However, after reading an early draft my business partner said: ‘No-one wants to read about what you did on your holidays!’, so it then changed in emphasis and became a bit more philosophical and thematic, with each chapter exploring a different topic relevant to that part of the journey. So travelling through Russia and Siberia during the spring melt is a reflection on climate change, while visiting Japan is about overfishing, and so on.

How did you plan your trip?

Actually very little was planned in advance. The only thing pre-booked was the Trans-Siberian Express. I wanted the journey to unfurl and unfold naturally before me and be able to go where it took me. Crossing the oceans was the only real constraint as cargo ships obviously only ply certain trade routes.

Was the strong environmental/ wildlife theme intentional?

The environmental theme is obviously enormously important for me as this is what my professional life focuses on at Futerra, the specialist sustainability

communications agency I cofounded 13 years ago. And as a former marine biologist I’m fascinated by strange sea creatures. It was brilliant to watch humpback whales breaching around our cargo ship from Singapore to Brisbane as we sailed through the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. The resonant boom of howler monkey calls in Guatemala and an intimate encounter with an appropriately slow travelling Costa Rican sloth were also evocative moments. By far the most powerful experience, however, was visiting the overwintering grounds of the Monarch butterfly in Mexico’s Michoacan Mountains. These incredible insects migrate from there as far north as Canada and back each year. But the truly magical aspect is that the butterflies that return are the great, great, great grandchildren of those that left the previous season.

Did you love of travel start as a result of your love of nature?

I think I’ve always loved both. I’ve spent several years working abroad, a year in the tropical forests of the foothills of the Blue Mountains in Jamaica as a volunteer teacher, a year living and diving in Noumea, New Caledonia and Brisbane, Australia, as well as in the Orkney Islands off Scotland. Getting in touch with nature has been an important and very integral part of these experiences.

ONLY PLANET, Ed Gillespie , Wild Things Publishing, RRP £14.99 Our price £11.99, quote code WT044

106 JULY 2014

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Hummingbirds: A life size guide to every species Michael Fogden, Marianne Taylor and Sheri L Williamson (Ivy Press, RRP £19.99) Our price £16.99, quote code WT007 The ultimate guide to all 338 species of brilliantly colourful hummingbirds. Inside are more than 300 life-size photographs accompanied by a distribution map and key statistics and facts about the species.

The Woodland Book Tessa Wardley (Bloomsbury, RRP £14.99) Our price £11.99, quote code WT041 Woods are magical places for both young and old, and this new title will show you how to make the most of them whatever your age. From woodland games to watching wildlife, building dens and other woodcraft to foraging for food, Tessa has woodlands covered.

Birds of Kenya’s Rift Valley Adam Scott Kennedy (Princeton, RRP £18.95) Our price £14.95, quote code WT043 If you are heading to Kenya’s Rift Valley make sure a copy of this book is in your luggage. The region is home to four major national parks as well as many smaller protected areas and this guide features the 320 bird species, from the common to the rare, that are most likely to be encountered.

RSPB Spotlight Otters Nicola Chester (Bloomsbury RRP £9.99) Our price £7.99, quote code WT038 Author Nicola explores the wonders of one of our most charismatic water mammals, from its family life and diet to its life out of the water and how its body has adapted to make it an expert swimmer, full of grace.

TO ORDER To purchase any of the featured books at our special discounted price, go to: www.wildsounds. com/wildtravel or call: 01263 741 825 and quote the relevant offer code above.

Offers valid until 31 July 2014 Free postage for all UK orders.

A percentage of every sale will be donated to our selected charity, World Land Trust (www.worldlandtrust.org)

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Theknowledge

Kitlist FIRST AID KITS

From minor bumps and scrapes to coping with bleeding and burns, these kits are invaluable Budget 1 Boots

Produced in conjunction with the first aid charity St John Ambulance, this kit is designed for family travel in the UK and overseas. It includes sterile wipes, insect bite cooling spray, plasters, burn gel sachets, eye wash, and a splinter remover. £11.99, www.boots.com

Mid-range 1 evaQ8

This foreign travel deluxe kit fully complies with the Department of Health’s recommendations when travelling abroad and includes needles, syringes, antiseptic and antihistamine creams and a drip needle, as well as plasters, dressings and suture material. £24 www.evaq8.co.uk

Top-end 1 Nomad

This comprehensive medical kit is ideal for long periods or travelling to remote areas where access to medical assistance is limited. It includes rehydration sachets, loperamide for diarrhoea, paracetamol, ibuprofen, anti-histamine tablets, hydrocortisone cream, water purification tablets and a sterile injection kit. £50, www.nomadtravel.co.uk

wildlifeextra.com

2 Steroplast

3 Reliance Medical

This 40-piece kit, supplied in a useful soft nylon roll-top bag with clear, easy-to see compartments that are secured with zips, includes dressings, swabs, bandages, sterile wipes, plasters, gloves, micropore tape and an ice-pack. £8.75, www.steroplast.co.uk

Designed for business and holiday travel this kit includes gloves, dressings, conforming bandage, triangular bandage, scissors, microporous tape, sterile wipes, and the crucial holiday staple, plasters. It comes in a handy 14 x 10 x 7cm bag. £8.99, www.reliancemedical.co.uk

2 Karrimor

3 Care Plus

The content, which comes in a useful zipped pack with carry handle, includes wound closure strips, swabs, dressings, forehead thermometer, crepe and triangular bandages, emergency foil blanket, vinyl gloves, paracetamol, plasters, dressings and microporous tape. £24.99, www.karrimor.com

This first aid kit comes in a buoyant, waterproof case, weighing 217 grams. It’s ideal for active outdoor sports people, mountain bikers, water sporters and travellers going to tropical regions.

It includes a foil blanket, plasters, scissors, burn gels, tweezers, safety pins, dressings, gloves, CPR shield and bandages. £25.20, www.careplus.eu

2 Vango

3 Lifesystems

Weighing 879g this kit includes CPR face shield, Irrigation syringe and wound closure strips to clean and close wounds, trauma pad and wide elastic wraps to control bleeding, a pair of forceps and a wide array of medications to treat pain, inflammation, and common allergies. £35, www.simplyhike. co.uk

Designed with the help of members of the British Special Forces medical team this kit is intended to care for up to 14 people. The 64 items include a thermometer, paracetamol, ibuprofen, dressings and plasters, bandages, scissors, swabs, sterile wipes, burn gel and wound closure strips. £49.99, www.lifesystems.co.uk

JULY 2014 107

Photo workshop

Get sett for badgers Finding your subject is your first job, and then getting yourself set up in the right place at the right time, and undetectable, is crucial to capturing good badger photographs, says Drew Buckley

I

t is late on a summer’s evening. A wash of bird song echoes through the wood where I’m sitting; orange sunlight streaming through, illuminating the surrounding landscape and casting long shadows across the woodland. I’m waiting patiently, staring at a mound of earth, hunkered down by a tree and covered in camouflage.

Lots of things begin to go through my head. The main one being whether Britain’s most well known and recognisable mammal will actually appear in daylight, given its nocturnal habits. And can I be seen? Can I be smelt?

I’m constantly changing the camera settings as the wood gets darker by the 108 JULY 2014

minute, upping the ISO and dropping the shutter speed. Finally, after staring at the same scene for over an hour, a flicker of movement appears at the sett entrance and a black and white striped head slowly emerges. It’s such a magical and overwhelming experience, you need to keep telling yourself not to move. This stunning creature is mere metres away and at the first sign of danger it will disappear, wasting the whole evening’s stake out.

While I’m slowly putting my eye to the camera viewfinder, it looks straight down the lens at me. After a few moments sniffing it senses the coast it clear, relaxes and fully emerges to go about its foraging

and other business for the evening.

Badgers have been a hot topic in the media in recent times. Without getting into any form of argument or choosing a side I’ll simply state what they are, and that is: one of our finest mammals!

Badger watching itself is quite easy.

The hardest part is finding them. Badgers are very widespread across Britain, and can survive pretty much anywhere.

Finding their place of residence, though, and narrowing down where to look for them, is a result of analysing their lifestyle and routines.

In Britain, their main food source is the humble earthworm, so it’s no surprise to learn that they can be found where there wildlifeextra.com

Theknowledge

Wild July Here: Badgers usually emerge just before dusk, so position yourself when there’s good available light to help your images.

Right: For the best wildlife pictures, set yourself up at eye level to your subject.

This will make for a more intimate shot.

Below right: Fieldcraft signs can be a big help in getting yourself in the right position and barbed wire is one of the best places to search for animals hairs.

are abundant numbers of this prey. And the best place to find earthworms is on short grass, ideally land that has been grazed by sheep or cattle.

So the first point of call would be to check out a site of woodland that is near, or next to, grassy fields. Badgers live underground, and to make their lives easier, the ground they need to excavate for their sett has to be the right kind of soil. Damp, boggy ground, or anywhere that could flood, are usually avoided.

They also prefer to dig into a sloping site.

This is probably because it’s easier to excavate earth sideways rather than down. It saves them the struggle of shifting excess soil up and out the entrance, and it must also be easier to exit a sideways hole in the evenings.

The next trick is knowing that badgers don’t tend to travel long distances away from the sett. The boundaries of their territories are only really about a quarter wildlifeextra.com

Other species to photograph around the UK this month

of a mile from home. So you’re now looking for a woodland, or wooded area, on dry sloping ground close by, or next to, grassy fields or pasture. Head for an area like this and chances are you won’t go wrong. On the grassland, look for signs of rooting – depressions which are small, conical in shape and a few inches across. Also keep a look out for well used paths across the land, especially those that head towards and go under fences.

Look closely at the base of the fence.

Badgers are hardy animals and don’t mind squeezing under barbed wire.

Sometimes their hair gets caught on this, which will be a sure sign that they’re around. If you find any hair, pick it up and roll it between your thumb and forefinger. It should feel irregular because it is oval in shape. Also, it will be black or grey in colour; another sign that this is a frequently used route. Follow this path into the wood and you’ll start to

NESTING SEABIRDS July is around the peak time for nesting seabirds and their young fledging.

Some great sights can be witnessed at the colonies all around Britain. Gannets are one of my favourites and are a real spectacle up close, especially watching them dive; plunging head first in the water for fish.

Locations - Bass Rock, Bempton Cliffs, Grassholm HOBBY One of the great migrants that grace our shores in summer is the hobby.

These small falcons are super fast, with their main prey being dragonflies. They are highly manoeuvrable but are regularly out-flown by dragonflies in an amazing insect dogfight.

Locations - Somerset Levels, Minsmere, Cotswold Water Park BATS Bats are at their most active in summer.

It’s difficult to identify different species without using special bat detectors which pick up their ultrasonic noises.

Pipistrelles are the commonest of the small bats and and brown long-eared the most widely distributed large bat.

Location - Woodlands, parks and larger gardens

JULY 2014 109

Here: Using fieldcraft to get up close and undetected, will give you great views of natural behaviour and allow you to really study your subject. Below right: Get creative with your images. Try back-lighting, capturing motion or even shooting through flora. They will all add something extra to your shots.

pick up other animal paths made by badgers that come and go, hopefully ending at the sett itself.

If it’s an active sett, it’ll be quite large with many spoil heaps where they’ve discarded earth they’ve dug out. There will be signs of maintenance in the forms of new excavations or discarded old dried grass, as they change it regularly for bedding.

For a better idea of what goes on, you could always install a trail camera. These are more and more popular these days and can do all the hard work for you.

Examine viewing places around the sett so you don’t disturb them and also don’t impact on the badgers’ habitat.

Keep an eye on sunset times and the sun’s location, so you can position yourself with any fading light behind you. If you want to get creative, however, you could choose to site yourself on the opposite side for backlit shots. You want to be setup and in position about 90 minutes before sunset. One variable that will change, though, is the wind direction, so you should position yourself with the wind either blowing in your face, or across it, 110 JULY 2014

never from you towards the sett.

Unlike its sense of smell, a badger’s eyesight isn’t the best, so as long as you’re reasonably camouflaged in dark muted colours, aren’t obviously sticking out against the sky and don’t move too fast or make much noise, you should go undetected.

All that’s left is sitting and hoping that they’ll appear while it’s still light. I’m on the fence about using flash on wild animals, I prefer upping the ISO when light gets low. As with any wildlife portrait, work out a position where you will get a nice eye level angle with them, and also use a wide aperture. This will not only help you achieve better shutter speeds in low light, but will also create a more intimate photo. It also helps to make the subject pop out of the scene with a nice out-of-focus background.

What’s in my kit bag?

Drew highlights the kit he would take on a badger photographing session

CANON EOS 5D MARK 3 The perfect camera for low light shooting.

Amazing high ISO capability, deadly silent shutter mode and 22 mega pixel full frame sensor if I need to crop my image.

CANON EF 300MM F/2.8L IS USM Arguably one of the sharpest lenses Canon makes. Usable right down, wide open at f/2.8.

Versatile, lightweight and has enough reach to keep a safe distance from the badgers.

TRIPOD & GIMBAL HEAD As you can imagine, low light equals slower than optimum shutter speeds. Using a tripod allows me to drop the shutter without the danger of blurry images. The gimbal head gives me free movement of my kit, allowing me to point it in any direction quickly.

THROW-OVER BAG HIDE Put simply, it’s a large piece of camouflaged coloured mesh cloth, but it works wonders!

Helps to break up your overall outline letting you go undetected. Also the mesh is fine enough to keep those woodland biting insects at bay.

MUCK BOOT WELLIES Super comfy neoprene wellies are a vital piece of kit on any of my shoots. They keep your feet warm and dry when sitting still for hours on end and they’re comfy enough to walk miles.

JACK PYKE CAMOUFLAGE SUIT Made up of a jacket and trousers (right), this is a perfect accompaniment to wear under the bag hide. Waterproof and warm, the jacket has a zip-out part at the rear for you to sit on so you don’t need to worry about taking a seat.

■ Share your wildlife photos at https: //www.flickr.com/groups/wild_travel/pool/

Good badger photography hides Dinefwr Park, Llandeilo Speyside Wildlife, Cairngorms Old Henley Farm, Dorset College Barn Farm, Oxfordshire Anglian Birdwatching Centre, Rutland wildlifeextra.com

ARE YOU READY FOR anything?

NATURAL HISTORY HOLIDAYS SMALL, FRIENDLY GROUPS EXPERT LEADERS EST. 1993 PHOTOGRAPHIC TOURS TO COSTA RICA, BORNEO, ICELAND...

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CHOOSE FROM OVER 70 TOURS!

Salomon | X Ultra GTX | £90.00

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Bird & Botanical Holidays Perfect holidays for the nature lover who wishes to observe and conserve wildlife.

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■ BUTTERFLIES OF THE FRENCH ALPS 5-12 July: Roger Gibbons

Order over the phone or online

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GORILLA & EAST AFRICA SAFARI Travelling to East Africa is safe, thrilling, exciting and simple with the newly introduced Single East African Visa (Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania). The region is well endowed with the best natural and untamed rawness in offering one of the best safaris. A Safari in East Africa is a real adventure with abundant wildlife ranging from animals such as lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards and rhinos, zebras, hippos, giraffes, wildebeests and antelopes to mention but a few, and the most rare species like the Mountain Gorillas and Golden Monkeys found in Uganda and Rwanda. The more time you spend on a safari in East Africa the more you will get to see the beauty and the uniqueness.

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Visit www.wildlifeextra.com for more great information on wildlife and travel To advertise contact Justin Parry on 01242 216 060 or Katy Byers on 01242 265890

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Don’t forget to mention Wild Travel when responding to adverts To advertise contact Justin Parry on 01242 216 060 or Katy Byers on 01242 265890

Confessions of a wildlife traveller...

Great expectations There’s no such thing as wildlife on demand, so make yourself a plan B to survive that missedsighting angst, says Mike Unwin

“N

114 JULY 2014

Blue whales might be the world’s largest animal, but they’re notoriously difficult to find

not penetrate their blanket of despondency at having missed the target. Some of them would, genuinely, have been happier had they stayed in bed.

How I scorned their blinkered approach.

But am I any different? The fin whale reminds me that, despite years of experience, I can still fall prey to that same distorted sense of entitlement. We all can: such is the weight of expectation created by TV, the internet and the seductive marketing of the travel industry that we lose touch with the reality of the natural world. It’s as though paying for our wildlife experience gives us contractual rights. After all, we’d feel ripped off if we turned up in Agra and the Taj Mahal wasn’t there. Why are blue whales different?

To survive that missed-sighting angst, then, perhaps we need a plan B: to simply pan back from the ‘target’ and remind ourselves where we are, how lucky we are to be there and how much else is out there. While I cursed fate that morning over my no-show blue whale, a pod of some 150 common dolphins escorted us back to port, Cory’s shearwaters angling through their wake. It was a magical sight. I didn’t deserve it.

And yes, before you ask, I did finally see a blue whale – on my last trip. Impressive it was, too. So at last I have that sighting in the bag, albeit flagged with a mental footnote: get a grip.

Seeing these creatures is thrilling precisely because they’re wild, and therefore free to do their own thing, including not showing up wildlifeextra.com

© MIKE UNWIN

ot another fin whale!”

The spouts on the horizon had raised my hopes. This could be what I’m after.

But now, close-up, the telltale falcate dorsal fin leaves no doubt that it isn’t. I’m gutted.

So what’s wrong? Surely I should be high-fiving my companions with delight. Here I am, bobbing about in a zodiac off Pico Island, with this magnificent animal so close I can smell its fishy exhalations. It’s a once-ina-lifetime wildlife moment; most people would give their eye teeth for the privilege. Yet I’m cursing my misfortune. I should be ashamed of myself.

Fin whales are wonderful, of course. But I’ve seen them before. Indeed, to seasoned whale watchers, fin whales are – dare I say – fairly commonplace. The problem with this fin whale is that it’s not a blue whale. And it is expressly to see that more elusive, sought-after animal – the biggest creature in the history of our planet – that I’m here.

And when it comes to missing blue whales, I have form. I missed them in Sri Lanka, when unseasonal monsoon storms scuppered my trip. I missed them in Svalbard, courtesy of a few hours’ ill-timed kip below deck. Now here I am in the Azores. Last week there were sightings every day. And yet this week not a sign.

Why me? Again.

Wildlife on demand: that’s the problem. Now that pretty much all the world’s megafauna, from mountain gorillas in Rwanda to jaguars in the Pantanal, is available for our viewing pleasure (provided we have the dosh), we have come to expect a sighting as our right. We forget the significance of the word ‘wildlife’. Seeing these creatures is thrilling precisely because they’re wild, and therefore free to do their own thing, which includes not showing up.

Implicit in the thrill of every sighting is the very real possibility of a non-sighting. We could have easier, cheaper views in a zoo, but that’s hardly the same.

I remember one morning on a wildlife camp in Zambia watching visitors step down from their jeep, crestfallen having missed lions on their game drive.

Sure, they’d seen elephants, giraffes, hippos, countless birds and a fabulous sunrise, but those wonders could

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WILD TRAVEL – July 2014 The Andes, Ecuador

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The Camargue, France

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Ultimate dive destinations

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Essential Botswana

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Badger photography

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