Wildtravel 08/14 by StStilinski

Contents Features

29 Home or away? Our selection of the best wildlife-watching trips in the UK and overseas during August, including watching white-tailed eagles in Scotland and wolves in Sweden

34 Trip report: Rubondo Island, Tanzania c Sue Watt pays a visit to an island in Lake Victoria that has provided a sanctuary for rescued chimps, elephants and giraffes since the 1960s

44 Take me there: the Panama Canal c On the centenary of this iconic waterway, we celebrate the colourful wildlife that can be found living along its banks All cover stories marked with a c

54 Anatomy of an African wild dog c We reveal how this endangered canine is perfectly adapted for a life spent hunting on the plains of sub-Saharan Africa

56 Ultimate wildlife cruises c Find your sea legs as we offer our run down of the world’s best wildlifewatching cruises, from Australia to the Antarctic and beyond

66 Trip report: bears in British Columbia, Canada c Nick Garbutt goes in search of black and spirit bears, bald eagles and whales in the Great Bear Rainforest in this remote part of Canada

Essential Spain 78 Why? Teresa Farino explains why Spain is one of Western Europe’s top wildlife destinations

80 Where? c Your guide to Spain’s most spectacular wildlife-watching areas, from the Pyrenees and Andalucía to the Canary Islands

92 What? Iberian lynx, Spanish Ibex and lammergeier are just a few of the species that make it onto our must-see list

97 How? Everything you need to know before you go, including country facts, a suggested itinerary and recommended places to stay AUGUST 2014 3

CONTENTS Regulars 12 Wild world We review the latest images from the world of wildlife, from Iran to South Africa, as well as the latest conservation news and wildlifewatching tours

22 Wild UK c Inspiration for wild days out across the UK, from spotting ospreys at Rutland Water to dragonflies in Essex and Kent

99 The knowledge Our experts explain how to treat an elephant and attract bats to your garden, plus wildlife photographer Simon Booth offers his tips on photographing frogs, newts and toads

114 Column: Confessions of a wildlife traveller

If you’re a budding wildlife photographer, don’t let your obsession with the pefect shot spoil the moment, says Mike Unwin

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

OUR COST RATINGS EXPLAINED Under £500 £500-£1,500 £1,500-£3,000 £3,000-£5,000 Over £5,000 Nb. The cost rating is based on the total cost for the trip per person, including flights, accommodation, guides and transport

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4 AUGUST 2014

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WELCOME Contributors

Sue Watt Sue reports on her encounters with the rescued wildlife living on Rubondo Island in Tanzania

Turn to page 32 to find out how you can enjoy an afternoon in the company of wolves in central Sweden

Claire Boobbyer

The long and short of it Whether you’re looking for inspiration for that luxury safari trip you’re planning next year, or you want ideas for some spur-of-themoment wildlife-watching close to home, help is at hand with our new regular Home or Away feature. Every issue we will showcase four of the best wildlife watching trips around the world for that month, with ideas for days out and weekends away in the UK, mini-breaks in Europe and long-haul adventures further afield. To see if any of our selections for August grab you, turn to page 29. Elsewhere in this issue, there are plenty of other long-haul, short-haul and down-themotorway destinations covered. For those of you who like the idea of observing wildlife from the comfort of a ship’s deck, we’ve got our guide to the ultimate wildlife cruises (see page 56), plus we’ve got a feature on the wildlife thriving on the banks of the Panama Canal (page 44). Life on the water’s edge is a recurring theme of this issue, with trip reports from Rubondo Island National Park in Tanzania (page 34) and the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada (page 66). However, if all that sounds a little extravagant, look no further than our Wild UK section (page 22), packed with ideas and events right here.

COVER IMAGE: © NICK GARBUTT. ABOVE: © AGE FOTOSTOCK SPAIN/ALAMY

Matt Havercroft, Editor

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

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

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

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Claire took a cruise on the Panama Canal to discover the wildlife along its banks

Nick Garbutt Nick found spirit and black bears, bald eagles and whales in British Columbia, Canada

Teresa Farino Teresa explains why Spain is one of Western Europe’s top wildlife destinations

On the cover...

Cover image: a spirit bear in the Great Bear Rainforest, Canada

AUGUST 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 In deep water

All aboard Last month’s debate on the environmental impacts of the proposed high speed rail (HS2) link (Trending, Wild UK July issue) has got you talking. Peter Miller seems to have no knowledge of the habitats the project is going to destroy. You cannot destroy ancient woodland and then replace it by planting a few trees on a field somewhere. Ancient woodland has formed over thousands of years and cannot be replaced by the hand of man in such a short timescale - we’re talking centuries at least. It is pathetic that a project which involves bulldozing directly through irreplaceable habitats is now being presented as some sort of conservation project. Furthermore, contrary to Miller’s claims, you cannot learn anything from HS1 because the areas HS1 goes through are different. The area around HS1 has a lot of ancient woodland and includes areas with some of the most ancient woodland 8 AUGUST 2014

in Britain (as a percentage of land area). But HS2 goes through some of the least wooded parts of Britain. Therefore you cannot point to HS1 and use that to claim HS2 will do little damage. Destroying ancient woodland is bad enough, but doing it in an area which still has a lot of woodland will have less of an impact than doing it in an area which has very little woodland. Reece Fowler (on wildlifeextra.com)

Peter Miller is just spouting the same old defence of the project that we have heard time and time again. Two million new trees will do nothing to replace ancient woodland, which cannot be replaced. Also there is no reason to believe all these trees will even survive, as there has been no information whatsoever about how they will be looked after once planted. In the case of HS1 (the Channel Tunnel link) there was no programme of

management once the line had been built. There has been no research done into their proposal to erect ‘boxes’ over the line to protect bats, and the Chilterns are home to some of the rarest bat species in the country. HS2 Ltd itself admits that barn owls (already suffering a large drop in numbers from the last few years of bad winter weather) will be totally wiped out within one and a half kilometres of the new line. Their so-called Environmental Assessment was a farce, and was only 60 per cent complete – what happens about the other 40 per cent? The Environmental Audit Committee of Parliament criticised it quite heavily, but HS2 and the DfT dismissed these justified criticisms out of hand. The whole project is a total disgrace. Andrea Polden (on wildlifeextra.com) wildlifeextra.com

I really enjoyed your article on Ultimate Dive Destinations in the July issue as it was great to learn more about the colourful marine life and underwater landscapes around the world. I was particularly interested to read about the island of Cozumel as I’m going to Mexico on holiday this September. I had previously been planning to do some snorkelling, but getting a glimpse of the diving opportunities available has inspired me to be a little more adventurous! I might not be an experienced diver, but I’m definitely going to see if I can sign up for a PADI course. I was also intrigued by the species of fish you highlight as ones to look out for in Cozumel, such as the squirrelfish and splendid toadfish. It’s a shame there weren’t any images of these included in the feature, but I’m hoping I might get to see them for myself during my trip! Samantha Hamilton, via email

InBox 1

Your photos This month’s selection of photos from our Flickr site 1 Perfect timing: This confrontational moment between a little owl and a woodpecker was captured by Dave Nay, who says, “In case you’re wondering, the woody won...” 2 Racing ahead of the pack is this dynamic image of a cheetah at full throttle by Roy Balfour. We couldn’t help wondering what unfortunate prey had caught its attention 3 This perfectly focussed, beautiful macro-image of a six spot burnet moth on a stalk was taken by William Dearie 4 Allan Blackett’s patience was rewarded when he managed to take this beautiful image of a shy warbler in the Haute Alpes in France 5 Kevin Morgans took this dramatic image of two white-tailed eagles sparring in front of youngsters in Kutno in Poland

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

Winning image

AUGUST 2014 9

InBox Your stories Mum’s the word This picture of a newly born dik dik (a small antelope that lives in eastern and southern Africa) was taken in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. Myself and my Mum were lucky enough to visit Kenya on safari with a family friend – a trip that we knew would give us some fantastic memories and wildlife encounters. We visited several different reserves throughout Kenya, but one of the best was Samburu National Reserve. We were on a morning game drive, during the rainy season, taking pictures of a couple of giraffes in an area that was quite bushy when we drove around the corner we stumbled across this dik-dik who had just given birth and

was still licking her newborn fawn clean as we arrived. It didn’t take long before the fawn was looking ready to stand up and walk. This couldn’t happen soon enough as there were already vultures circling overhead and the lions in the area were never far away! The newborn stayed close to mum and tried to stand several times on its very wobbly legs! We were all captivated by this little antelope’s first moments and the whole tour group waited with baited breath as it made several attempts to

From the website Seal of approval Our news story that legislation is about to be introduced to protect Scottish seals was greeted with enthusiasm It’s about time seals were protected from persecution for the crime of eating fish. Let’s hope they can be protected while fishing as well. And please extend the protection to cormorants which are killed in their hundreds by fisher persons. Man’s arrogance is astonishing. We believe we can exterminate any creature which eats food we eat, strays onto land we covet or even makes a noise we don’t like (ie, gulls in towns). Paul Brown

stand. Quicker than we anticipated the dik dik was up and ready to go. We were very lucky to be able to sit and watch the whole process. We just hoped the dik-dik survived the tough predators of this beautiful reserve. Alice Latham, Warwickshire

Great day sharing the best of @ YCNature with the lovely folk of @wild_ travel – here with close-up long-tailed ducks From Mark James Pearson @Fileybirder

Competition winner Congratulations Craig Brown who won £500 worth of camping equipment in our website competition we ran in conjunction with RSPB to celebrate their Big Wild Sleepout event that took place across the country.

Turn to page 27 to read our interview with Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment, Richard Lochhead

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

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)

10 AUGUST 2014

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TWITTER: @wild_travel

Iran

Rarely spotted

A seven-year-old rescued male Asiatic cheetah named Koushki rests at Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in Jajarm, northeastern Iran. Although the world’s fastest predator might be more commonly associated with the African plains, their Asiatic cousins once ranged from the Red Sea to India. Today, thanks to poaching, hunting of the cheetahs’ main prey — gazelles — and habitat loss, there are fewer than 100 remaining in Iran, where a campaign is being conducted to bring them back from the brink. Since 2006 the country has celebrated National Cheetah Day on 31 August to raise awareness of their plight.

Wildworld Latest visions from the world of wildlife

Netherlands

X Ray vision A Dutch physicist has used X-ray to create an extraordinary collection of artwork revealing the inner-workings of the natural world. Arie vanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Rietâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pictures show birds, fish, monkeys and flowers in an incredible new light. The 66-year-old, from Bathmen in the Netherlands, began X-raying flowers as a means of teaching radiographers and physicians how the machine worked. But after adding a bit of colour to the resulting images, the retired medical physicist realised the potential to create a unique set of prints.

Wildworld Alaska

Grizzly footage

British wildlife photographer Chris Weston could only watch in despair as a giant grizzly bear in Katmai Peninsula, Alaska, set about eating his new GoPro camera on its very first outing. Amazingly, the resilient piece of kit survived the bear’s powerful jaw clamping down on it to reveal incredible footage from inside the predator’s mouth. Watch the film at youtu.be/ RxDFVzHjAqA

Wildworld

South Africa

Taken for a ride

Ireland

Falcon fright A peregrine falcon in flight at Killiney Hill in south Dublin, Ireland. The National Parks and Wildlife Service are calling on the Irish public’s assistance to “ensure the conservation and protection of such majestic birds of prey” following attempts to kill the falcons using live tethered pigeons allegedly covered in poison. The falcons are a protected species in Ireland.

A troop of baboons have found a novel way of hitching a lift around animal sanctuary Monkeyland and Birds of Eden near Plettenberg Bay, in the Western Cape of South Africa. The cheeky primates discovered they can ride on the backs of the resident horses, including Jericho, pictured, who looks less than amused after having his afternoon rest disturbed.

Shorts Pest control The real, devastating risk of systemic pesticides is revealed Suggestions that banned neonicotinoids should be reintroduced because they are necessary to protect crops at risk from flea beetles, have been quashed by recent evidence that these pesticides not only affect bees and other pollinators, but also many invertebrates and some vertebrates, including birds. The research was carried out by the IUCN Task Force Systemic Pesticides, a group of global, independent scientists. “We are witnessing a threat to the productivity of our natural and farmed environment equivalent to that posed by organophosphates or DDT [completely banned worldwide in 2001],” said Dr Jean-Marc Bonmartin, of the French

National Center for Scientific Research. “Far from protecting food production, the use of neonics is threatening the very infrastructure that enables it.” Most affected are invertebrates such as earthworms, exposed to high levels in soil. Next are insect pollinators exposed through air and plants. Birds are also at risk from eating treated crop seeds, and reptiles by a depletion of insects.

THREE FOR THE RECORD

By numbers

000 833,

INDIVIDUAL UK BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS

Recorded in the 2013 Big Butterfly Count SOURCE: BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

Belgium

Forgers’ forfeits Following a lengthy trial at Ghent in Belgium, four men and one woman have been convicted of forging and falsifying permits and documents required to possess and trade in endangered species, receiving prison terms ranging from one to four years and hefty fines in excess of €200,000 (£159,000). They were acquiring rare birds of prey from the wild and passing them off as having been bred in captivity by using false papers. The court also ordered the forfeiture of cash and assets of

20 AUGUST 2014

New species

more than €700,000 (£556,000). The investigation by the Belgian Federal Police, which lasted over six years, resulted in enforcement action in five countries, including search warrants being executed in the UK by the police and National Wildlife Crime Unit, and involving a related case that was successfully prosecuted in Gloucestershire in 2013. Dozens of birds including kites, eagles and vultures were confiscated in Belgium.

A new species of sengi or elephant shrew has been discovered in Namibia. Called Macroscelides micus, this is the smallest of 19 known species of sengi. They belong to a branch of the animal kingdom called Afrotheria, which credits them with a closer relationship to elephants, sea cows, and aardvarks than other shrews. On the Asian continent, a new genus and species of carnivorous water rat has been discovered in central Indonesia. The local people know the animal as balau wai, and it is the only known water rat from Sulawesi and the Southeast Asian region. The scientists used DNA sequences to prove that the new species is not a close relative of any other water rat species, including those of New Guinea and Australia. Also in Southest Asia, a new wolf snake species has been discovered in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains. Wolf snakes are nonvenomous members of the Colubridae family named after their large teeth found in both jaws. This is the eighth new snake found in the Cardamom Mountains since survey work began in 2000.

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Europe

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

Wildworld Thailand

New tours

Thai ivory sales up

Snap up Botswana

Bangkok’s ivory market has almost trebled over 18 months There has been a steep rise in outlets selling ivory in Bangkok. An investigation by TRAFFIC found that in 2013 the number of ivory retail outlets rose from 61 to 105. Its report provides evidence that the quantity of ivory found far exceeds the limited supply available under current Thai legislation. A 75 year-old law permits legal trade in ivory from domesticated Asian elephants in Thailand. However, with no registration system it is impossible to trace the ivory, creating a

loophole for illegal supplies. “We call on Thailand to act swiftly and decisively against the rampant ivory trade that is nurturing a criminal underworld, fuelling the poaching of elephants in Africa and seriously tarnishing Thailand’s global image,” said Naomi Doak, TRAFFIC coordinator for the Greater Mekong region.

Micro-life

Royal antelope This is the smallest of all the ungulates at only 25cm (10in) tall and 40-50cm (16-20in) in length. Adults weigh only as much as a bag of sugar and males have tiny 2.5cm (1in) horns. They live in dense forests of West Africa where they hide in undergrowth and come out at dawn and dusk to feed on fruit, leaves, flowers and fungi. They are solitary animals with territories of only 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft), which they mark with dung. When startled they can move with great speed, and long hind legs can power a leap of 2.8m (9ft).

Worldwide

NEW DISCOVERIES Old World monkeys have facial differences to help avoid interbreeding, say researchers from New York and Exeter universities. They studied two dozen species of guenons, chosen because they often travel, feed and sleep in close proximity. “How you end up looking is a function of how those around you look,” said author William Allen. “With the primates we studied this has a purpose: to strengthen reproductive isolation between populations.” In another study, apes showed a distinct

Tatra Photography have launched a luxury 12-day photography workshop taking in the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park, with personal tuition from wildlife photographer Simon Stafford. Target species are the Big 5, antelopes, hyenas, baboons and countless birds. Cost: £7,999pp all-inclusive When: 15-26 September 2014 tatraphotographyworkshop.com

Yorkshire variety Spend the morning in the Great Yorkshire Forest looking for adder, goshawk and honey buzzard, and the afternoon on a boat trip on the lookout for minke whale, harbour porpoise, Manx and sooty shearwaters. Cost: £90pp When: Aug and Sep 2014 www.yorkshirecoastnature.co.uk

Hunting humpbacks Take part in a research expedition to study humpback whales in the waters off the Dominican Republic. The aim is to take video and stills of the whales and their calves to aid conservation, with maybe a chance to dive and snorkel with them. Cost: £3,995pp (excl flights) When: 21-30 March 2015 www.steppestravel.co.uk

preference for African and Indian music over Western and Japanese tunes. Adult chimps were played music on a portable stereo near their enclosure at Emory University. With African and Indian music they spent more time where they could hear it. With any other music, they retreated to a place where it was impossible to hear. In the marsupial world scientists have realised kangaroos use their tails as a fifth leg, rather than just a stabiliser. When walking, they employ front legs and tail moving as one, followed by the back legs. “They perform as much mechanical work with their tails as we do with our legs,” said Prof Maxwell Donelan of Canada’s Simon Fraser University.

AUGUST 2014 21

Wildlife weekends

The magnificent seven T

his millennium, Britain’s dragonfly contingent has been in the throes of revolution. Several sparkling species have crossed the sea to start colonising Britain, particularly southeast England. Excitingly, most of the neophytes appear to be here to stay. In this ambitious weekend, chance your arm at finding up to seven magnificent dragonflies unknown in Britain two decades ago. Wat Tyler Country Park in Essex is the most reliable site for southern migrant hawker. This large, inquisitive dragonfly with electric-blue eyes first bred in Britain in 2010 and has the merest toe-hold in the country. Look for it above ponds or ditches along the entrance road, particularly immediately south of the toilet block. While you search, check for scarce emerald damselfly in sedges lining the pools. While no newcomer, this metallicgreen damsel is nationally threatened: its distribution centres on the Thames Estuary

22 AUGUST 2014

so it is a local speciality. More common dragonflies include migrant hawker and ruddy and common darters. Check flower banks for two nationally threatened bumblebees: shrill carder bee and brown-banded carder bee. The former occurs at fewer than 10 localities in Britain, including three involved this weekend. Finally, scan the pools along the boardwalk southeast of the toilet block and behind the RSPB South Essex Marshes visitor centre. These are good for great crested newt: you should see frilly-gilled youngsters and possibly black-and-orange adults. Next, head west under the M25 to RSPB Rainham Marshes. In late summer, the reserve is excellent for both rare carder bees. To find them, make a beeline (ahem) for pathside flowers around the visitor centre or along the inner river wall. Shrill carder bee reveals its presence with high-pitched, mosquito-like buzzing. Rainham is fabulous for common

dragonflies, with darters zipping, hawkers hovering, and damselflies dipping. Of rarer species, small red-eyed damselfly abounds at the westernmost pool along the northern boardwalk. This waspish damsel is arguably the most spectacular colonist of them all. After first breeding here in 2002, its range expansion has been dramatic, recorded from north to Yorkshire and west to Devon. From vagrant to widespread in a decade! En route, check grassland by the Ken Barrett Hide for the striking (and sizeable) wasp spider. Webs of this recent arrival from the continent are often helpfully waymarked. And pause on bridges to see whether a water vole emerges from reedmace fringing channels – or listen for one chomping on vegetation. August can be great for prolonged views of family groups. Then drive south, crossing the Thames, and head along the A2 into north Kent. Pass the afternoon at RSPB Cliffe Pools. A high-tide visit could produce the amazing

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Head to Essex and Kent in August for southern migrant hawkers, southern emerald damselflies, water voles, wasp spiders and shrill carder bees, writes James Lowen

WildUK

PRACTICALITIES Clockwise from left: August can be great for prolonged views of family groups of water voles; the striking (and sizeable) wasp spider; mating scarce emerald damselflies; a partially submerged marsh frog

sight of 800 avocet and blacktailed godwit on Radar or Flamingo Pool. Cliffe is a stronghold for shrill and brownbanded carder bees, so check flowers. Wall butterflies are rare in Kent, but common along Cliffe’s seawall. Common dragonflies abound at Cliffe, but a trio of rarities share top billing. Cliffe is a stronghold for scarce emerald damselfly, which particularly inhabits sedge-lined ditches north of ‘pipe pool viewing mound’, north of the ‘black barn pools’. More remarkably, these ditches have become Britain’s most reliable site for southern emerald damselfly, a verdant species that colonised in 2010. Amazingly, the vicinity sometimes also hosts southern migrant hawker (as does the southern side of Flamingo Pool), and you should keep an eye out for both wasp spider and water vole. Start the next morning on the Isle of Sheppey for undoubtedly the rarest (and thus least likely) of the magnificent seven. After an assumed absence from Britain of nearly 60 years, dainty damselfly was rediscovered here in 2010, frequenting dense grassland by pools west of the old road bridge. This tiny, feeble flying damselfly has the most precarious grasp

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on British terrain, so keep expectations low. More reliable is willow emerald damselfly south of Reculver. With only three records in Britain prior to 2009, an amazing 400 were found that year at 35 sites in East Anglia. This confiding green dragonfly has subsequently been found in Kent, including at Marshside where it allows close approach in channel-side vegetation. Look on the channels themselves for small red-eyed damselfly. Hence to Sandwich Bay on the Isle of Thanet. Restharrow Scrape, 1km south of the bird observatory, is one of the most reliable British sites for red-veined darter. From the hide, check muddy islands or look for a territorial male hovering like a red helicopter over warm, shallow waters. Also here should be brown hawker, black-tailed skimmer and red-eyed damselfly. For your final dragonfly rarity, journey south to Dungeness. First recorded in Britain in 1996, lesser emperor breeds each year at the Long Pits, inland from the bird observatory. Seeing this imperial immigrant would provide a remarkable finale to a weekend searching for the magnificent seven – with a supporting cast of a further dozen dragonfly species.

WHERE TO GO: Wat Tyler Country Park is 2km south of the A13 at Pitsea (TQ738864; Tel: 01268 550 088; www. wattylercountrypark.org.uk). Follow the A13 west then A1306 southeast to RSPB Rainham Marshes (TQ552792; Tel: 01708 899 840; www.rspb.org.uk/rainhammarshes). RSPB Cliffe Pools is on the Isle of Grain (TQ722757; Tel: 01634 222 480; www.rspb.org.uk/cliffepools). For Sandwich Bay (01304 617 341; www.sbbot.co.uk), leave Sandwich east on Sandown Road. Entering the Sandwich Estate, park at the bird observatory (TR356575). Walk 1km southeast to Restharrow Scrape (TR362582). From Lydd, follow signs to Dungeness (www.dungeness-nnr.co. uk). Park at the old lighthouse (TR089170); walk northwest 1.3km to Long Pits (TR084184). SUGGESTED BASES: Rochester and Canterbury. Hartlip Place (Tel: 01795 842 323; www.hartlipplace. co.uk) oozes grandeur, offering quirky rooms and candlelit dinners. FLEXIBILITY: Dainty damselfly (if present) flies from early June, southern emerald damselfly from late June and red-veined darter from late May. Lesser emperor, southern migrant hawker and red-veined darter may still be flying in September, and willow emerald damselfly in October. Wasp spider is best from early August-early September. Water vole can be seen FebruaryOctober, but abounds AugustSeptember. Shrill carder bee flies June-September. 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

AUGUST 2014 23

WildUK Spotter’s guide

Bumblebees

August is the month new queen bumblebees emerge from their nests in search of a male. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s Rosemary Free picks six common species to look out for

Tree bumblebee Bombus hypnorum The tree bumblebee was first recorded in the UK in 2001 having arrived from mainland Europe. It is now found throughout most of England and Wales, and in the last two years has spread to the south of Scotland. It prefers to nest above ground, often inhabiting bird boxes, and is very distinctive and easy to identify. Queens, workers and males all have a black head, brown-ginger thorax and a black abdomen with a striking white tail. Nest sites: above ground – likes bird boxes

White-tailed bumblebee Bombus lucorum It isv worker bees of the white-tailed bumblebee species and those of the buff-tailed species. However, the queens are easier to tell apart as they have a clean white tail. The yellow bands are a bright lemon-yellow and the males have yellow hair on their head and extra tufts of yellow on the thorax and abdomen. Colonies can reach as many as 400 workers. Nest sites: underground, often in disused rodent nests

Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum Found throughout the UK, the queens, ry e workers and males of this species have three yellow bands on the body – one near the head and two around the middle. The middle bands are so close together they can look like a single thick band, but are on different segments of the body. The tail is white. It has a long tongue which you will see when it is feeding from flowers such as honeysuckle and comfrey. Nest sites: either below or above ground

Common carder bee Bombus pascuorum This is a long-tongued species emerging in early spring. It has shaggy hair and is the only common UK bumblebee that is mostly brown or ginger. This shade varies significantly depending on the location. Some have abdomens which are very dark, while others are quite light. Queens, workers and males all have the same colouration. Sometimes seen as late as November in the south of UK. Nest sites: above and underground, preferably in old mouse nests

Buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris Queens, workers and males have a dirty or golden yellow collar near the head and one on the abdomen. The queen’s tail is an off-white/buff colour which can sometimes appear orange. The workers have a white tail with a subtle buff line separating the tail from the rest of the abdomen. Unlike many species, the male has black facial hair and a buff-tinged tail. They are found throughout most of UK apart from north west Scotland. Nest sites: underground

Red-tailed bumblebee Bombus lapidarius This is one of the most distinctive species because of its striking colouration, with the queens and workers being completely black with a red tail. The males have yellow bands on the body – one strong band near the head (like a collar around the ‘neck’) and some tufts of yellow near the middle. Males also have yellow hair on top of the head and between the eyes. Found throughout most of the UK. Nest sites: usually underground – likes the base of dry stone dykes and walls

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AUGUST 2014 25

Clockwise from left: Rutland Water, with Hambleton peninsula separating the nature reserve from the boating section; a water vole; one of Rutland’s famous ospreys

Tour of Britain

Rutland Water Nature Reserve A project in the 1970s to fulfil an East Midland city’s demand for fresh water has resulted in a globally important wetland area packed with wildlife A large expanse of wetlands situated along nine miles of the western end of the huge manmade Rutland Water Reservoir. The reserve occupies 1,000 acres of shoreline, lagoons and islands, and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a European Special Protection Area and an internationally important RAMSAR site. There are 31 wildlife hides overlooking the water and miles of nature trails to follow throughout the reserve.

History Rutland Water was created in 1975 when the Gwash Valley near the town of Empingham was dammed and 7 sq km of farmland and two villages were flooded by the Anglian Water company to provide a clean water supply for the expanding city of Peterborough. By surface area it is one of the largest artificial lakes in Europe. The western end of the newly created reservoir was designated a nature reserve and handed over to the management of the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust.

Wildlife Rutland Water is famous for its breeding ospreys, several pairs of which have been coming to the reserve to raise their chicks every spring since 2001. It is, in fact, the home of the first ospreys to breed in England for 150 years. Historically, the osprey was found all over the country but egg-collecting and

26 AUGUST 2014

taxidermy led to their extinction as a breeding species in the early 1800s. The lagoons on the reserve are carefully managed to provide suitable habitat for ospreys, as well as a wide range of wildfowl and wading birds. The mammals recorded here include bank voles, otters, badgers, muntjacs, brown hares, stoats and weasels. The meadows and marshy areas around the reserve host many species of butterflies such as speckled wood and gatekeeper, and moths such as diamond-back and several types of tortrix. There are also a number of dragonfly species present, including recent sightings of lesser emperors. The habitat around the margins of the lake is home to a wide variety of woodland birds.

Seasonal highlights Every August Rutland Water hosts the British Birdwatching Fair, know familiarly as Birdfair, a three-day event that celebrates birds and other wildlife. All the profits from the Fair go to a wildlife charity which is selected annually. It features more than 360 exhibitors ranging from wildlife tour operators to specialist optics and clothing retailers, booksellers and wildlife artists. There is a full programme of talks and courses, and lots of children’s activities, plus the opportunity to explore the reserve and watch the ospreys fishing in the reservoir before they begin their long migration back to sub-Saharan Africa.

NEED TO KNOW LOCATION: Close to the ancient Rutland county town of Oakham in the East Midlands. VISITOR CENTRES: There are two visitor centres on different sides of the lake. The Anglian Water Bird Watching Centre is on the west shore, next to the village of Egleton, and the Lyndon Centre is on the south shore, overlooking Manton Bay. Both centres offer car park, gift shop, toilets, refreshments and educational facilities. OPENING TIMES AND PRICES Anglian Water Bird Watching Centre – 9am to 5pm (4pm from Nov to Feb); Lyndon Centre – 9am to 5pm mid-Mar to mid-Sept (closed rest of year) Adults, £5.65; children under 16, £3.30; concessions, £4.45 Birdfair – 15, 16 ,17 August 2014; Adults £15 (£13.50 online) for a day ticket; £31.50 (online) for a weekend ticket CONTACT DETAILS: Rutland Water Nature Reserve, Tel: 01572 770 651; www.rutlandwater.org.uk Birdfair visitor information at www.birdfair.org.uk wildlifeextra.com

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Trending

Seal sanctuary

We asked Scottish Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead to explain proposed legislation to protect seals across the country

What protection will the proposed legislation put in place for the seals? Legislation to designate 194 protected sites for seals has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament. Under the draft Order, which is subject to the normal parliamentary procedures, it will be an offence from 30 September 2014 to intentionally or recklessly harass the animals within the designated areas.

What are the main threats that the new legislation seeks to address? This legislation was introduced in response to concerns expressed by the Scottish Parliament during the passage of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 that individuals, who were no longer able to kill seals without a licence, might resort to harassing them at their haul-outs where they are vulnerable. The new protection order will make such action an offence under the Act.

How were the 194 protected sites selected and why aren’t the new regulations being applied to all of Scotland’s seal haul-out areas? Expert scientific advice and the results of a public consultation were used to determine the location of designated seal haul-out sites. The seal haul-out sites were selected using a scientific methodology developed by the Sea Mammal Research Unit, and approved by the Natural Environment Research Council, which prioritised sites regularly used in recent years by the largest numbers of seals. Following the public consultation more sites, including breeding sites, were included in the final list of 194 designated haul-out sites.

What punishment will anyone committing an offence face? The penalties for those found guilty of the offence

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of harassing a seal at a designated haul-out site are up to six months imprisonment or a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale, which is currently up to £5,000.

How have environmental groups been involved with, and responded to, the proposed legislation? The new legislation has been broadly welcomed, with positive comments from Scottish Environment Link and Onekind. Sarah Dolman, Deputy Convener of Scottish Environment LINK Marine Task Force said: “This is a welcome announcement, especially to help reverse declines in harbour seal populations. Designation of these haul out sites, along with robust guidance, will help decision makers to ensure protection of seals and is an important piece of the jigsaw that is the effective management of Scottish seas. Libby Anderson, Policy Director at animal protection charity OneKind said: “We hope that this will lead to all those who share the environment with marine wildlife, from dog walkers to anglers, fish farmers and salmon netsmen, recognising that seals at rest must be left alone.”

What further legislation is planned to protect Scotland’s other iconic marine wildlife? The Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994 (as amended) already protect all cetaceans (porpoises, dolphins and whales) from disturbance, or from being killed, injured or taken in Scottish waters. Other policies for protecting the biodiversity of Scotland’s seas include the development of a network of Marine Protected Areas.

BIG BUTTERFLY COUNT Until 10 August Nationwide This is a nationwide survey run by Butterfly Conservation. All you have to do is give up 15 minutes of your time, preferably during bright and sunny weather, to count the different species of butterflies you see. www.bigbutterflycount.org

WILD DOLPHIN TRAIL Until 29 August Aberdeen A trail that takes in 50 life-sized, fibreglass sculptures of bottlenose dolphins, the species most often seen off the North-East coast. They will then be auctioned to raise money for Whale and Dolphin Conservation and the ARCHIE Foundation. www.wilddolphins.org.uk

BIRDFAIR 15-17 August Rutland Water, Midlands Simply the biggest wildlife event in the UK calendar and a mustvisit for any enthusiast. There are more than 360 exhibitors across 10 marquees, workshops, food, kid’s events and a full 3-day programme of talks by wildlife experts from around the world. www.birdfair.org.uk AUGUST 2014 27

Up close and personal

DAY TRIP I UK

LONG WEEKEND I UK

OR HOME AWAY? We round up the best wildlife watching experiences for August, with ideas for days out, weekends away and short and long haul breaks – but which gets your vote? WORDS BY WILL GRAY

LONG HAUL I SOUTH AFRICA

ANDREW BAILEY, JULES COX/FLPA, AGE FOTOSTOCK SPAIN SL, GFC COLLECTION/ALAMY

MINI BREAK I EUROPE

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AUGUST 2014 29

DAY TRIP I UK

Dragon hunting

Clockwise from left: an adult female emperor dragonfly laying eggs; Cornmill dragonfly sanctuary near Waltham Abbey; a common darter in flight

Cornmill Meadows Dragonfly Sanctuary, Lee Valley Park, Essex

30 AUGUST 2014

AT A GLANCE

COST RATING: Free WHEN TO GO: Summer is best for ogling Odonata at Cornmills Meadow, although spring is better for emerging nymphs.

OTHER WILDLIFE: Kingfishers along the banks, hobbys hunting dragonflies mid-water; quiet backwaters and reedy channels good for water vole. Otters are around, but shy.

BOOK NOW: Visit www. visitleevalley.org.uk wildlifeextra.com

Of the 42 resident species of breeding dragonflies and damselflies in Britain, around half can be found here – and a warm, sunny day in August gives you a good chance of spotting several of them. Stroll through Cornmill’s mishmash of pools, ditches, meadows and glades and you’ll soon find your head spinning as you try to follow the aerial antics of stealth hunters like the emperor dragonfly. Reaching up to 8cm in length, this iridescent kingfisher-blue ‘hawker’ patrols open water, rarely settling. As you follow the circular, two-mile Dragonfly Discovery Trail you’ll encounter black-tailed skimmer, ruddy darter, broad-bodied chaser and hairy dragonfly, resting on waterside plants or nearby fence posts, warming their bodies in the sun before taking flight in a flash of red or blue. Migrant hawkers sometimes form large feeding swarms along the sanctuary’s woodland glades, while common darters can be seen well into late summer – you might be lucky enough to spot a mating pair, flying in tandem, the female dipping to the water’s edge to lay her eggs. Less frenetic, but equally mesmerising, the damselflies at Cornmill Meadows include dainty beauties like the banded demoiselle and white-legged damselfly. Unlike their bold cousins, they flutter rather than prowl, and perch with wings folded back (dragonflies hold them wide open). Take a pair of close-focussing binoculars and you’ll also notice that a damselfly’s eyes are small, spherical and widely spaced, whereas dragonflies have huge bulging eyes meeting in the middle. Once you’ve finished perusing the ponds at Cornmills Meadow, flit across to nearby Amwell Nature Reserve – another prime spot for dragonflies in the Lee Valley. The boardwalk trail at Hollycross Lake is particularly good for close-up views of these charismatic insects.

HOMEORAWAY? LONG WEEKEND I UK

Where eagles dare Isle of Mull, Scotland The RSPB’s Mull Eagle Watch is soaring high in August, while a day safari with a local wildlife expert may also reward you with sightings of otters, seals and red deer, all to be found on this wildlife-rich Hebridean isle. Your adventure begins the moment you board the ferry in Oban for the 45-minute crossing to Craignure on Mull’s southeast coast. Harbour porpoises are frequently seen and, during summer, you might also glimpse the telltale ‘twin triangles’ of a basking shark’s dorsal fin and tail. However, it’s eagles that star in this wildlife odyssey – and Mull has both golden and white-tailed varieties. Whether you’ve brought your own car, or have arranged to be met at the ferry dock by one of Mull’s excellent local safari guides, chances are you will head west on the road to Fionnport, delving into rugged Glen More. Scanning the slopes and skies of this wild valley you may spot one of Mull’s ‘goldies’ pirouetting on finger-tipped wings or hunkered down on a mountain ledge. Larger in size, with shorter tails and broader wings, white-tailed eagles nest in forests along the shores of Mull’s kelp-fringed lochs. You might be lucky enough to see them soaring overhead, or even hunting offshore, but your best hope of a sea eagle encounter is to hook up with a ranger from the Mull Eagle Watch. The rendezvous point for a safari is along a forest track at Glen Seilisdeir (you’ll be given the exact location when you book in advance) – then it’s off to a secluded hide for privileged views of a white-tailed sea eagle nest. You may need to wait a couple of hours before one of the adults appears, but it will be worth it when you see it swooping towards the nest, its huge, hooked bill jutting forwards and that distinctive white tail fanned to break its dive.

Clockwise from left: the Abhainn na h-Uamha stream that runs from Ben More to Loch na Keal; a white-tailed eagle fishing; two young European otters play fighting

AT A GLANCE

COST RATING: WHEN TO GO: Year-round but August is a good month to see a range of species.

OTHER WILDLIFE: Otters, seals, dolphins, minke whales, basking sharks. BOOK NOW: Mull Eagle Watch (www.rspb.org.uk). Isle of Mull Wildlife Expeditions (www. torrbuan.com) and Discover Mull (www.discovermull.co.uk) both offer full-day safaris.

DID YOU KNOW?

Mull has become a stronghold for white tailed-eagles following a reintroduction programme in 1975

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AUGUST 2014 31

MINI BREAK I EUROPE

The call of the wild Central Sweden

AT A GLANCE

COST RATING: WHEN TO GO: Late June to end Sept for howling. Tracking Jan to Mar when there’s snow.

OTHER WILDLIFE: Moose. beaver, brown bear, roe deer, red fox, lynx, wolverine, wild boar, black woodpecker, capercaillie, black grouse and great grey owl. BOOK NOW: Wild Sweden (www.wildsweden.com) offers a range of wildlife tours.

©AGE FOTOSTOCK SPAIN SL, GFC COLLECTION, INFOCUSPHOTO.COM/ALAMY, HEIKE ODERMATT, IMAGEBROKER FRANZ CHRISTOPH ROBI/FLPA

Few sounds in nature have more spine-tingling potential than a wolf howl. Join researchers from the Grimsö Wildlife Research Station in Sweden and you have an 80 per cent chance of hearing the quintessential ‘call of the wild’ during an overnight camping trip in summer. It’s not so easy to see wolves, but August is a good month for spotting beaver and moose. After flying to Stockholm Västerås airport it’s only a 60-minute drive to reach wolf territory. Tucked into a wild and woody tangle of taiga forest, pockmarked with lakes to the northeast of Lindesberg, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station is Sweden’s leading centre for studying the charismatic canids, as well as other predators such as lynx and brown bear. Hunted to the brink of extinction, wolf numbers in Sweden are steadily recovering and they are now thought to number around 500. You’ll find out about the latest wolf research, then venture into the forest to set up camp, eating dinner round an open fire while straining to hear that first haunting cry. With luck, you’ll hear and howl along with wolves. But even if the Scandinavian night remains silent, you will still experience the thrill of sleeping under canvas in wolf territory. The following morning, depending on the previous night’s wolf activity, there’s an opportunity for walking in the taiga forest, learning how to track wolves on foot by studying their paw prints, droppings, territorial markings and, occasionally, their kills. If you’re extremely fortunate you may even catch a fleeting glimpse of these elusive creatures.

Clockwise from left: one of the approximately 500 wolves now found in Swedish forests; the wooded wetlands of Fulufjallet NP; a grazing Eurasian moose

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Trip Report

RUBONDO ISLAND, TANZANIA

The Rubondo elephant herds live in relative safety from poachers thanks to the islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remoteness

AUGUST 2014 35

AFTER TWO HOURS

OF LEADING US

DEEP INTO THE FOREST,

our tracker James suddenly dropped to his knees and gestured by hand signals for us to do the same. We instantly fell silent and crouched down. “Sokwe,” he whispered in Kiswahili, pointing to the trees. I peered into the mass of twigs, sticks and branches ahead of me but could see only shadows. Somewhere in their midst was a solitary chimpanzee, but it seemed to have vanished into the darkness as soon as James spotted it. He’d seen one earlier, too; a quick flash of primate blending into the forest. We waited motionless, listening for tell-tale signs of the chimp’s whereabouts, but heard only birdsong, the shrill buzz of cicadas like a choir of pneumatic drills, and a bushbuck’s distinctive bark. It was its alarm call, suggesting it might also have seen the chimp. Above us, high in the trees, were nests the size of giant pillows made of fresh green leaves and branches. Chimps build new nests every day and we’d already passed several dried ones on our forest walk. “This is where they slept last night,” James informed us quietly.

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n island in the south-western corner of Lake Victoria might seem like a strange homeland for 40 or so chimpanzees, but Rubondo is no ordinary island. In the mid 1960s it became the setting for the world’s first attempt at rehabilitating captive chimpanzees. This was under the auspices of the renowned zoologist Dr Bernhard Grzimek, author of the ground-breaking book and Academy Award-winning film Serengeti Shall Not Die, that dramatically raised the profile of African conservation. European zoos found themselves in a difficult predicament with our primate cousins – what were once cute and cuddly chimps became aggressive, dangerously strong and more sexually active as they grew older, and often had to be caged in solitary confinement for safety. Thus, in 1966, “Operation Chimpanzee” was born, initiated by game warden Peter Achard. Ten chimps, seven females and three males, were transported from Frankfurt and Antwerp Zoos to Rubondo, a game reserve free of both human and animal predators. In all, 17 chimps were brought here between 1966 and 1969. Today, their descendants roam wild and free on this beautiful forested island. In his book Among Animals of Africa, published in 1970,

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Trip Report

RUBONDO ISLAND, TANZANIA

Rubondo is an emerald gem, its 237 sq km of hills and valleys covered with forests and open grasslands

Clockwise from left: a pair of chimpanzees study the people studying them; a walk in Rubondo’s forests is an opportunity to see a wide variety of African species; from the air the extent of the island’s dense forest is revealed; Rubondo Island Camp’s dining area

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AUGUST 2014 37

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swooping down to catch fish, and little egrets paddling and preening themselves in the waves, occasionally flashing the unusually yellow feet which are part of their breeding plumage. More colourful varieties included brilliant yellow lesser-masked weavers with their nests hanging like Christmas tree decorations in the papyrus, pretty European bee-eaters and aptly named red-billed fire finches, little red-chested birds that roamed outside our room for breakfast.

ubondo is a haven for crocodiles, too, and however tempting a cooling swim in Lake Victoria might seem, it’s an activity best avoided – they’ll soon sense you wading in the water. We saw several from the boat, seemingly willing us to dip our hands into the vast inland sea. Hippos also bobbed up and down, only their cartoon-like eyes and ears visible above the waterline. Otters ducked in and out of the lake, possibly looking for fish – there’s plenty here, including huge Nile perch weighing up to 80kg, with three-day permits available for keen fishermen. Back on land, we frequently saw Bambi-like bushbucks and sitatunga, indigenous to the island, frolicking by the roadside. Along with chimps, roan antelopes and rhinoceros were also brought here, but were wiped out by poachers. Relocated giraffes and elephants have fared better. You wouldn’t necessarily know they were here – a lack of roads and relative inaccessibility of parts of the island, particularly in the south,

40 AUGUST 2014

mean that for now, the giraffes, numbering around 40, are rarely seen. However, the tracks planned by Asilia and TANAPA in areas they populate will undoubtedly improve sightings. In contrast, the island’s 80 elephants certainly make their presence known – they may not be spotted easily but we heard them trumpeting in the night and saw their tracks on the road when morning came. “Looks like this was a small breeding herd,” suggested Marcus, Asilia’s lead guide, using string to measure a footprint in the sand. “If you multiply the circumference of the front foot by two and a half, it will roughly give you the shoulder height of the elephant. It’s an old hunting technique. This one would be about 2m tall, too young to be alone.” Much as I wanted to see the herd, I was secretly relieved they’d moved on – Rubondo’s elephants can be moody, as testified by chimpanzee trackers after tricky encounters in the forests. Grzimek clearly had a vision for Rubondo all those years ago. In 1970, echoing today’s responsible tourism ethos in Among Animals of Africa, he wrote: “Success in settling species of animals not found elsewhere in the National Parks of East Africa could mean that in five or 10 years’ time, visitors will be boarding ultra-modern steamers and sailing across Lake Victoria to Rubondo. Our object was to render assistance not only to animals but also to a poor but dynamic country which does a great deal for its wildlife.” Today, 32-year old Josephine Msindai from University wildlifeextra.com

“On a boat trip to the west of the island, I lost count of the various birds we saw”

Clockwise from left: the Lake Victoria shoreline features an avian array of long-tailed cormorants, Egyptian geese, little egrets, sacred ibis and an open-billed stork; giraffes are doing well on the island, with numbers increasing; a sandy beach near the island camp; a pair of polka dot butterflies; a spot-necked otter among the rocks

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AUGUST 2014 41

Trip Report

RUBONDO ISLAND, TANZANIA

TRIP ADVISER COST RATING

SAMPLE PACKAGE TOUR: Expert Africa offers tailor-made packages to Tanzania. Rubondo Island is a destination that combines well with, and provides a contrast to, a Serengeti safari. A package including three nights at Asilia’s Dunia Camp in Central Serengeti and four nights on Rubondo Island, staying at Rubondo Island Camp, costs from £3,978 per person. This includes international flights with Kenya Airways (via Nairobi), full board accommodation and most drinks, park fees, game drives and activities. Also included in the price are the internal flights with Coastal Airways and all vehicle transfers.

hortly after James’ second chimp sighting on our forest walk to learn about their habits and habitats, we heard a piercing squeal in the trees, and then another, and another. They finally reached a crescendo like naughty children screaming in a playground. This was the chimps vocalising, calling to each other before nesting at night, and the deafening noise echoed and reverberated all around. Just 25m ahead of us were five chimps and one baby. I had trouble making them out in the dark, dense forest but they were there alright. With every squeal, you could feel a tension, an edge. Not yet habituated, these chimps were still wild, still unknown personalities, and that lent an excitement and a kind of purity to the encounter not usually experienced. It may be nearly 50 years since the chimps’ relocations, and visitors may be coming by plane rather than by steamers, but it seems Grzimek’s vision for Rubondo is finally coming to fruition…

42 AUGUST 2014

Above: the chimpanzees of Rubondo are gradually getting used to visiting researchers; James, one of the chimp trackers, marks a nesting tree

VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK: British passport holders require a visa to enter Tanzania. This can be obtained from the Tanzanian High Commission in London costing £38 or can be bought on arrival at international airports for US$50.

TIPS & WARNINGS: Anyone entering Tanzania from a country where yellow fever is present is required to have a Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate. There is a risk of malaria that is resistant to chloroquine so consult a doctor or travel clinic for advice on this and other innoculations in plenty of time before you go. Note that there is a weight limit of 15kg on domestic flights so pack lightly. A decent pair of binoculars is a must – if you don’t have any, they can be hired for £25 per week plus £25 deposit from The Safari Store, www.thesafaristore.co.uk

WHEN TO GO: The rainy season from March – May is best avoided. If you want to see migratory birds from West Africa, the best time for viewing these is between December and February. © WILL WHITFORD, SUE WATT

College London, together with five trackers, is helping to achieve his objective. Her PhD studies focus on chimps’ nesting habits and architecture, but her work also involves habituating them for research and ecotourism, aiming to start visitors tracking over the next year or two. The team set out daily to find chimps and record behaviour, collect samples of scat for DNA analysis and study their nests. “It’s a challenge,” Josephine told me. “It’s quite frustrating when we don’t find them, but when we do it’s even more rewarding. At this stage it’s unlikely that someone on a walk would see chimps because it’s early days. But you never know, if they’re lucky...”

GETTING THERE: There are daily flights from London to Tanzania. Sue flew with Kenya Airways on an indirect flight via Nairobi to Kilimanjaro International Airport. Prices start from £695 return. She then had a vehicle transfer through Expert Africa to Arusha Airport, which takes around one hour, for her flight to the Serengeti. Coastal Airways offer daily flights to Rubondo Island either from various airstrips in the Serengeti, or from Arusha via Mwanza.

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

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LIFEON On the centenary of the Panama Canal thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never been a better time to discover the story of this iconic waterway, and the wildlife that lives beyond its banks

The Rio Changres section of the Panama Canal

44 AUGUST 2014

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Take me there

PANAMA CANAL

WORDS BY CLAIRE BOOBBYER

THEEDGE wildlifeextra.com

AUGUST 2014 45

A couple of leaves fluttered down from above and we spun round, craning our necks.

Tightrope walking along a leafy branch was a Northern Tamandua, a creamy coloured anteater with a coffee-brown nose. He was not the least bit perturbed by the ranks of binoculars as he tried to clamber to another woody hook in the dense tropical forest. The Northern Tamandua was a one-off that day, his star mammal credentials diminished by the presence of extraordinary birdlife in this rich parcel of rainforest, just metres from the ships that transit through the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, cuts through 80km of the Central American isthmus from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean. A vessel embarking on its journey from the Pacific side (next door to the capital Panama City) will first encounter the Miraflores Lock, then the Pedro Miguel Locks, the Culebra Cut (the narrowest part of the canal), the manmade Gatún Lake and then Gatún Locks, all of which enable 30-40 transits a day with the average payment per ship totaling US$100,000 (£59,000). More than a million ships have transited the canal since it opened in 1914. An expansion project, expected to be completed in 2015, will see a new lane of traffic with new locks stretching 427m long and 55m wide – the combined size of four football pitches – with carrying capacity doubled. On each side of the Panama Canal lies humid lowland tropical rainforest, four national parks, the remnants of the gold routes used by the Spanish colonialists, and communities of the indigenous but displaced Emberá people. And all this neotropical nature, amid the watershed, is just a 30-minute drive (25km) from the capital.

Clockwise from top: a Northern Tamandua anteater in a lofty perch; the Embera people negotiate the waterways in a traditional fashion; a wattled jacana; a large American crocodile

46 AUGUST 2014

While a full-day or half-day transit of the canal is sold to visitors on pleasure boats, a much better view of container ship movements can be seen from the Miraflores Docks Visitor Center early in the morning. En route, it’s possible to glimpse tamarin monkeys playing on fences and American crocodile in the lagoons close to the Center. Even better, though, is to get out on a small boat for a more intimate encounter. Small, open-sided boats head into the crooks of Lake Gatún, where mudbanks and tree boughs crouching above the water, reveal close-up views of birds and animals. Commonly found poking about the water’s edge are purple gallinule, striated heron, and wattled jacana. The Jesus Christ lizard (common basilisk) can be seen sunning itself on broken branches while the exposed position of a small boat allows wide views of the tree canopy. Three-toed sloths are often seen, curved into branches of their favourite cecropia tree, spying on the world’s largest container ships as they power their way through the canal en route to their destination ports. With the capital city on the canal’s doorstep it’s tempting to visit the waterway and its wildlife by day, but serious wildlife enthusiasts will want to stay several nights

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AUGUST 2014 47

EL DORADO BIRD RESERVE Golden sunsets between the mountains and the sea

Our excellent lodge for you and your family provides a unique access to the natural treasures of the Santa Marta area. Our lodge has comfortable suite rooms with hot water and mountain views. An excellent restaurant, bar & balcony with a breathtaking view of Caribbean beaches. We have excellent bird watching and walking trails festooned with ďŹ&#x201A;owering bromeliad plants that add plenty of colour to the landscape. There are 20 species of endemic birds that can only be seen in this very special place.

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Big cat highway

at the outstanding Canopy Tower ecolodge – an ex US radar station – or at guesthouses in Gamboa, a canalside settlement, which housed Canal Zone employees before the US relinquished control of the canal to the Panama Canal Authority in 1999.

How the Jaguar Corridor initiative is preserving cross-border passages

The Canopy Tower – established by politician-turned-conservationist Raúl Arias de Para in 1996 – runs daily trips out to birding and wildlife spots, with the busy programme scheduled to accommodate the interests of its long-stay guests. Days begin, pre-dawn, at the Canopy Tower with the distant roar of the mantled howler monkey. Coffee is served on the observation deck of the Semaphore Hill radar station where scopes are used to spy sleeping sloth, chattering keel-billed toucans and tamarins beyond the white blossom of the bombax trees in the early morning light. The vast ships traversing the canal, just 2km away, can be seen poking up above the canopy. Early morning treks begin by boarding the birdmobile, an adapted pick-up for birders who take advantage of the open-air seating to both hear and spot birds and mammals on the short drives. All-day trips to the most popular birding route, the Pipeline Road inside the Soberanía National Park, are enhanced by snack stops plus lunch provided by the multi-tasking guides. The Pipeline – where the anteater’s foliage shelter had arched across the road – is a forest track that runs 17km through the jungle of the Soberanía National Park, a 22,000ha tract of tropical forest that borders a large swathe of the eastern side of the canal. The Pipeline Road was an access route built for a World War Two pipeline constructed to transport oil across the isthmus should the waterway be bombed. The track starts metres from the great ditch that sluices across the isthmus and is considered one of the world’s premier birdwatching spots: the

In 2013, Panthera, the big cat conservation organisation, signed an agreement with the Panamanian National Environmental Authority (ANAM) to establish conservation initiatives. These were designed to protect the habitat of the jaguar, the largest cat in the Americas, reduce conflict between ranchers and jaguars on Panamanian land, and educate the country’s population about conservation of its wildlife. Panthera’s CEO and jaguar scientist, Dr Alan Rabinowitz, has previously stated that the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor – a transnational protected areas corridor in Central America – is essential for jaguar conservation and for allowing the passage of jaguars from Argentina through to Mexico. Incredibly, jaguars are known to swim across the Panama Canal, and in 2009 a camera trap snapped one for the first time on the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Barro Colorado island. This jaguar highway, through areas inhabited by humans as well as forest zones, is one of the aim’s of the Jaguar Corridor Initiative. Launched in 2008, the Initiative aims to link core jaguar populations that range from Mexico down to Argentina, to preserve the genetic diversity of Latin America’s most beautiful cat. Panama’s tiny isthmus is a key player in the important campaign to preserve this iconic animal. Until 1973, when CITES clamped down on the jaguar’s pelt trade, it’s thought that 18,000 wild jaguars were killed a year for their beautiful coat. It’s now a near-threatened species according to the IUCN Red List and el tigre – as the jaguar is known in Spanish – now only roams about 46 per cent of its historic range.

Above: jaguars now inhabit less than half their former haunts. Left: a keel-billed toucan at Gatun Lake. Right: the dizzy heights of Canopy Tower

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Panama Audubon Society holds an annual Christmas Day count. Its record is a sighting of 357 bird species on the Pipeline in 24 hours. The Soberanía park itself, is home to 525 bird species, 1,300 recorded plant species, and 105 mammals. Mammals found here include speckled caiman, two- and three-toed sloth, armadillo, capybara, Geoffroy’s Tamarin, spider monkey, mantled howler and white-faced capuchin. Colourful feathered species include the magnificent frigate, herons, hummingbirds, trogons, the fine keel-billed toucan, flycatchers, antbirds, and tanagers (see the Top 5 birds of the Soberanía NP for the twitcher’s holy grail) while the tropical forest is rich in ferns and orchids.

A tack along the gravel Pipeline Road, framed by baby bamboo and bromeliads, is always fruitful, with frequent sightings. Huge exposed branches above the road are a favourite of trogons for perching. Clearings in the undergrowth are favoured by agoutis, and clear sightlines above the track allow views of squadrons of blue-headed parrots. Marching army ants are easy to spot because of the track-side clearings. Dozens of birds make a meal of their art prey flushed out by the commotion. From Canopy Tower, birdmobiles head out past the Panama Railroad (opened in 1855), Gamboa town and the El Renacer prison, jail home of Panamanian dictator General Noriega. Just north of Gamboa is a site known as the Ammo Dump Ponds, where barn swallows swoop, capybara mooch in 50 AUGUST 2014

feathery grass, and Great Kiskadee and Great Breasted Martin potter and nest on the railway line wires overlooking the ponds, just metres from the canal. Further north from the ponds, and just beyond the Soberanía park boundary, the Rainforest Discovery Center, a 40m high observation platform, towers above the canopy. From the tree-top platform the dark green canopy, patterned in the lilac of the jacaranda tree in spring, looks like some enormous polka dotted, rippling cloth. The platform’s an incredible spot for spotting flying red-lored parrots and keel-billed toucans and, through the scope, stunningly beautiful birds such as the blue cotinga, scarlet tanager, golden hooded tanager, as well as tiny species such as the ping pong ball-sized black capped pygmy tyrant. The Plantation Trail, another rewarding spotting area, begins at the bottom of Canopy Tower’s Semaphore Hill. Once a road that led to coffee and cacao plantations, today it’s a tangle of stranglers and buttressed ceibas each side of a path showered with the pale pink and white flowers of the Membrillo tree. The forest here teems with blue morphos, and trogons which perch on naked branches, making them an easy spot through binoculars as well as the scope. A highlight is seeing well-camouflaged sunbitterns in a deep creek. It’s no surprise that this Central American biodiversity hotspot has come under the telescope, and opening up scientific discovery to the public is the hallmark of the US Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). In the wildlifeextra.com

©PATRICK J ENDRES, OCTAVIO CAMPOS SALLES, IMAGEBROKER,, ROB CRANDALL/ALAMY, BEN LASCELLES/NATUREPL.COM, GONZALO AZUMENDI

On each side of the Panama Canal lies humid lowland tropical rainforest

Take me there

PANAMA CANAL

OF SOBERANÍA TOP 5 BIRDS NATIONAL PARK 1

RUFOUS-VENTED GROUND CUCKOO A handsome and elusive rufescent bird with a fine brown and green crest and a striking turquoise blue postocular streak – a great spot on the Pipeline Road. Usually shy, but army ant swarms offer potential for sightings as the ants flush its prey – spiders, lizards and frogs.

PHEASANT CUCKOO

Clockwise from left: the long Gaillard Cut at the Gulf of Panama end of the canal; a common basilisk, known as the Jesus Christ lizard; Geoffroy’s tamarin; the Rainforest Discovery Center

A large, elusive cuckoo with a white breast and spotted throat, noted for its long, fan-shaped tail dappled in pale brown colours. The pheasant cuckoo hides in dense undergrowth of the humid lowland tropical forest of the park. The bird can often be located by its call, which is a high pitched rhythmic trill.

OCELLATED ANTBIRD The ocellated antbird is a real beauty with a stunning sapphire blue facial area around the eye and a back and rump of black brown feathers fringed in pale gold. It’s a favourite spot where there are ant marches, regularly found on and off the Pipeline Road, pouncing on prey fleeing the swarming ants.

ORNATE HAWK-EAGLE An elegant crested hawk with black crown, rufous neck collar and dark back. Rarely spotted in the canal area, it’s considered near-threatened. Its prey includes tinamous, toucans, agoutis and monkeys. It soars low over the forest canopy, and is best seen from the Canopy Tower deck or the Rainforest Discovery Center.

AGAMI HERON A long-necked rufous heron with a long bill, chestnut belly and bottle green plumage on its back. In the breeding season it sports pale blue crest feathers. It is an elusive bird considered vulnerable by IUCN. Spot it at Summit Ponds, 2km from Canopy Tower, and along the quiet streams crossing Pipeline Road.

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Take me there

PANAMA CANAL northern stretches of Lake Gatún sprawls Barro Colorado, a large, jagged 1,564ha island, which forms a larger natural monument area managed by the Smithsonian. It’s a tropical powerhouse, established as a protected area in 1923, with 42km of trails and hundreds of plant, animal and bird species. Only day visits are allowed by advanced reservation. The guided trip is somewhat ill-considered for keen wildlife enthusiasts as visitors must wait for the staff boat to get to the island in the morning. Prime wildlife spotting time is lost and then further wasted by coffee and a slideshow, meaning that visitors are led out onto the trails only at mid morning. However, the STRI guide entertains with tales of the 27 camera traps on the island, the scientist training frog-eating bats to associate mobile phone ring tones with food, the discovery of the sea hare with a compound active against tropical disease visceral leishmaniasis, and the nocturnal ocelot found eating an iguana and her eggs in daylight, witnessed by staff from the kitchen windows.

Three-toed sloths are often seen, curved into branches of cecropia trees, spying on the world’s largest container ships

TRIP ADVISER

COST RATING

SAMPLE PACKAGE TOUR: Journey Latin America’s 8-day Panama Canal Wildlife Tour starts in Panama City and has two full days in that city before the four nights’ stay at the Canopy Tower, including trips out to the Pipeline Road, the Rainforest Discovery Center, Lake Gatún and Barro Colorado. The price of £2,674 52 AUGUST 2014

per person includes return scheduled flights, breakfast in Panama City and full board at the Canopy Tower. All the accommodation, a half-day transit of the canal, transportation, park fees and wildlife guides are also included in the price. www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk

GETTING THERE: There are no direct flights from the UK to Panama City. Iberia flies daily to Panama City via Madrid. Fares start from £642 for a return flight.

mingling of animal species and plants and creating one of the world’s richest biodiverse areas. Mining and deforestation may threaten its biodiversity but the country’s 40 national parks offer official protection, and its status as a biological powerhouse is celebrated by the Frank Gehry-designed Biomuseo (www.biomuseopanama.org/en) in Panama City. Shaped like the ruffled plumage of a scarlet macaw, it tells the story of the planet-altering land bridge creation three million years ago, and is supported by the Panamanian government, a non-profit organisation, and STRI, with a programme dedicated to educating the Panama’s youth on the country’s bioheritage. Inevitably, with some of the planet’s richest biodiversity, you wonder if Panama can manage to balance its conservation and commercial agendas. With the focus of the Biomuseo celebrating the last three million years, Panama also needs to consider the next three million.

VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK: There are no visa requirements and UK citizens are given a 90-day stay on arrival.

TIPS & WARNINGS: Bring sunblock, sun hat and insect repellent. If you are staying at Canopy Tower bring ear plugs as the howler monkeys rise earlier than the birds. WHEN TO GO: The best time to visit is between January to March when you can get the greatest

possible bird sightings and very little rain. Migratory birds can also be spotted from mid-March to May. September to October sees the autumn migrants in the area. Migration months are when the observation deck of the Canopy Tower comes into its own to watch migrating birds flying overhead.

TOUR OPERATORS

JOURNEY LATIN AMERICA, Tel: 020 8622 8444; www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk

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With the US$5.25 billion (£3 billion) Panama Canal expansion, conservationists say little secondary forest area has been sacrificed and the wildlife has been relocated. Of greater threat they say, are the unexploited copper deposits in Colón province, which stretch across the Caribbean side of Panama. The Panama Environmental Advocacy Center (CIAM) says the mining concession area of 12,400 ha, which sits within the protected Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, will have a negative impact on rivers and wildlife, although the Panamanian National Environment Authority (ANAM) approved a socio-environmental impact study. Three million years ago the land bridge that connects the North and South American continents arose, allowing the

Clockwise from left: a three-toed sloth in Soberanía National Park beside the Rio Chagres section of the canal; giant passenger and container ships daily navigate the locks between the narrower sections

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Anatomy of an...

African wild dog

Also known as Cape hunting or painted dogs, these highly intelligent hunters are becoming increasingly endangered

Colouration

The scientific name, Lycaon pictus, is an amalgamation of the Greek for wolf and the Latin for painted, reflecting the animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s characteristics and irregular patterning in shades of red, brown, black and white. Each wild dog has its own unique markings and the multi-colours help it to blend into its dappled scrubland background. The white tips on their bushy tail helps pack members keep in touch in long grass.

Reproduction Within a pack, only the highest ranking male and female will breed. The female will have a litter of between two and 20 pups, which the whole pack will take a share in feeding and protecting. Pups are allowed to feed first at a kill and nursing mothers left behind at the den will be served regurgitated food.

Stomach Food passes through the oesophagus to a large stomach and extra-long intestine. This length helps the animal to absorb as much moisture as possible from the food. This means that wild dogs can survive for longer periods than other mammals without a regular water supply.

Ears The disproportionately big, erect ears act as sound collectors, helping a wild dog to keep in touch with the calls of its pack over vast distances. Pack members make a variety of sounds, from greeting rituals involving whining and jibbering to short alarm barks, prolonged howls and a bell-like contact call that travels for miles. The large surface area of the ears also helps the animal to lose heat.

Where in the world?

Packs of African wild dogs, dominated by a monogamous breeding pair, once roamed the savannahs and lightly wooded plains of the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. However, because each pack requires an extensive home range for hunting, of 500 to 1,000 square miles (the area of Greater London) human encroachment on their habitat has had a big effect on populations. These days wild dogs are thought to number fewer than 5,500 individuals. Packs of fewer than half a dozen wild dogs are not viable because they cannot hunt effectively. Potentially, therefore, the only populations that have a chance of survival now exist only in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Mouth The wild dogâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s short, wide muzzle is designed to help it grasp its prey and hang on to it. With the sheer weight of numbers of the pack they can, in this way, bring down the largest ungulate. Their large premolars are strong enough to break up large bones.

Feet and legs Unlike domestic dogs, wild dogs have only four toes per foot, rather than five. Their long legs help the dogs to run at speeds of up to 35mph when the pack is in pursuit of a gazelle or wildebeest. Packs are well organised, with some individuals running alongside the prey and others following behind at a slower pace to take over as the leaders tire.

You don’t have to sacrifice comfort to travel to some of the more remote corners of the world to watch wildlife when you can do it all while relaxing on a cruise ship. Here’s our selection of the voyages that will get you close to many of nature’s greatest spectacles WORDS BY SHEENA HARVEY

ULTIMATE wildlifecruises A flock of Adélie penguins carry on regardless of a ship-load of wildlife watchers

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and baleen whales navigate, including sperm, beaked, blue, humpback and minke. There are also six species of seals – leopard, Ross, Weddell, crabeater, Antarctic fur and elephant. Seeing the Antarctic wildlife from the sea is the most rewarding as there are few naturally occurring mammals, reptiles or amphibians in the region. Only the South Georgia pipit and a few freshwater ducks can provide any excitement if you step ashore.

Good spot: a male emperor penguin incubating an egg on top of its thickly padded feet; king penguin parents share this duty Who can I sail with? Steppes Travel; Tel 0843 634 7917; www.steppestravel.co.uk

ANTARCTICA A cruise to the bottom of the world, taking in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, is a story of penguins – adélie, chinstrap, gentoo, macaroni, emperor and its close relative the king. Luckily, each has its own distinct appearance, habits and habitat so they are easy to tell apart. Besides, there are millions of them, so exposure to each type for familiarity’s sake is not an issue. Among the many species of petrels, skuas, gulls and terns soaring over these flightless birds are also wandering albatross, the largest of seabirds with a whopping 3m (nearly 10ft) wingspan. Also present are black-browed, grey-headed and light-mantled sooty albatrosses, all of which congregate to breed on South Georgia. In the waters around the ship both toothed

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A jaguar quenches its thirst on a riverbank in Brazilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pantanal

AUSTRALIA The 2,520km (1,566 miles) Murray River winds its way through the Murray-Darling Basin, prime agricultural land in New South Wales. Nearly 75,000 sq km (46,600 sq miles) of the Basin is national parkland or nature reserve, and there are more than 30,000 wetlands, so it is a rich area for native Australian wildlife. The margins of the river are an environment of red gum forests and sandy beaches. The Murray is one of the longest navigable rivers in the world, which develops from a mountain stream at source to a wide waterway at the ocean end near Adelaide. Along the banks of the river the woodland is home to emu, koalas and

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western grey kangaroos. Bearded dragons bask on rocks in the sun and the trees are perches for red-rumped parrots, pink cockatoos and whitebrowed treecreepers. The rich fish life in its unpolluted waters attracts red-backed kingfishers and large flocks of pelicans. The black swan is a native of the area and wombats can also be seen coming to the water to drink.

A paddle steamer takes wildlife watchers on a lazy cruise up the Murray River in South Australia Inset: a red-rumped parrot

Good spot: a southern hairy-nosed wombat digging up the riverbank, as this emblem of South Australia is highly endangered Who can I sail with? Small Ship Cruises; www.smallshipcruises.com

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SCOTLAND

BRAZIL The waterways of the Pantanal, at 200,000 sq km (77,200 sq miles) the world’s largest wetlands, offer unique access to some amazing wildlife such as giant river otters, caimans and capybara. Here, the open wooded and savannah landscape affords better views of the area’s wildlife than the denser rainforests in much of the rest of the country. There are around 650 species of birds that inhabit the Pantanal, including the roseate spoonbill, hyacinth macaw and the wattled jacana, which appears to walk on water as it strides across submerged plant stems. There are also flocks of jabiru storks – the largest flying birds in South America – to admire as they pass overhead. The pinnacle of a tour to the area has to be a sighting of a jaguar, and cruising the Paraguay and Cuiaba Rivers will take you into the heart of the big cat area at the Meeting of the Waters State Park. This is the best place in the region to find jaguars, although there are no guarantees. The tributaries and lakes that branch off the two rivers require smaller boats to properly explore, and expeditions of this kind can bring you close to tapir and white-lipped peccaries along the shores, as well as coatimundi and capuchin monkeys in the waterside trees.

Everybody’s favourite, the puffin, can be found all over the Hebridean cliffs in the breeding season

Good spot: apart from the elusive jaguar, the sinuous, gliding, beautifully marked 14ft length of a yellow anaconda Who can I sail with? Pantanal Ecoexplorer; Tel +55 65 3682 8889; www.pantanalecoexplorer.com.br

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The Hebridean Islands such as St Kilda, Mull, Coll, Tiree and the Treshnish Isles abound with wildlife. A five-day cruise in the seas around them can provide a feast of whales, dolphins and porpoises, basking sharks, seals and otters. Birdlife can range from common coastal specialists such as puffins and great skuas, to now rare species such as corncrakes and whitetailed eagles. In particular, the St Kilda archipelago is home to 210 different species of birds, many found there in great numbers. The little island provides a breeding spot for 300,000 pairs of puffins and 60,000 pairs of gannets, fighting for space on the volcanic crystalline rock cliffs. This area is also the only place in the country

where you can see the four-horned Soay sheep, a feral descendant of the earliest form of domestic sheep that live on the island of the same name. Appropriately, Soay is the Old Norse word for Island of Sheep, and these very agile animals spend their lives among the cliffs that line the coast. Throughout the Hebrides in summer the coastal meadows, called machair, are full of colourful wild flowers that attract a huge variety of butterflies and moths.

Good spot: that pirate of the seas, the great skua, known locally as a bonxie, stealing another bird’s meal Who can I sail with? Northern Light Charters; Tel 01599 555 723; www.northernlight-uk.com

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Close encounters with cetaceans can be had in the waters around Alaska

ALASKA You can cruise around the waters of Alaska on a large ocean liner, but a smaller cruise ship will get you closer to the wildlife. That doesn’t mean sacrificing luxury, though, as there are cruise companies that offer both adventure, great wildlife watching and comfort. Explore Alaska’s Inside Passage and Glacier Bay National Park for sightings of black and brown bears, humpbacked whales and bald eagles. In Glacier Bay, marine waters make up nearly a fifth of the area covered by the national park. No

point of its land is more than 48km (30 miles) from the coast. Without leaving the ship you should be able to see harbour seals and Steller sea lions, sea otters and Dall’s porpoises, as well as minke whales and orcas. Bears appear on the beaches at low tide hunting for barnacles, crabs and clams. Wolves and coyotes travel along the shores as well, and moose, marmots and mountain goats will come to the edge of the sea to lick salt. Where rivers empty into the ocean there could be beavers or lynx. There

may even be a chance to see pine marten, snowshoe hares or mink, and perhaps the very rare wolverine. Seabirds such as Arctic terns abound, of course, along with migrating geese in the season, and sea ducks.

Good spot: a brown bear digging in the sand to bag itself a tasty seafood lunch Who can I sail with? Un-cruise Adventures; Tel +1 877 263 9888 (international toll free); www.un-cruise.com

BAJA CALIFORNIA The Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California, that runs along the land side of the southern part of the Baja California peninsula, is a unique corner of the Pacific Ocean. Here, there is the greatest variety of whales and dolphins to be found anywhere in the world, including bottlenose and Pacific white-sided dolphins, sperm, humpback, fin and blue whales. It is also one of the few places where they can be seen so closely and easily. Some 900 species of fish and many marine animals, such as the Humboldt squid, which can grow up to 2.5m (8ft) long and hunts in large packs, can be found thriving in the sheltered waters. Marlin, sailfish and flying fish skim the sea’s surface and whalesharks and manta rays cruise the depths. Mammals include northern elephant seals and Guadelope fur seals, and extensive colonies of Californian sea lions in the area known as Los Islotes. This is where the sea lions pup in early July and can be seen suckling the young for up to a year after.

Curious young Californian sea lions will take a close look at a snorkeller

Good spot: a California gray whale poking its head high out of the water – a behaviour known as spyhopping Who can I sail with? Lindblad/NG Expeditions; Tel +1 800 397 3348; www.expeditions.com

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Svalbard is an important breeding ground for polar bears

PAPUA NEW GUINEA This country has the largest area of intact rainforest outside of the Amazon and is home to more than 700 species of birds, including the lofty southern cassowaries, Papuan hornbills and a staggering 23 species of kingfisher. That figure is far surpassed, however, by the 63 species of honeyeater that rely on the country’s abundant tropical flora for a living. It is for its many and varied birds of paradise that Papua New Guinea is best known, though. Of the 44 known species worldwide, PNG has 35 of them. To see any of these showy birds, as well as some of the unique mammal life such as the lowlands treekangaroos, striped bandicoots and shortbeaked echidnas, you will have to go on a shore excursion. Stunning marine life is also a feature of PNG as it lies within the Southeast Asian Coral Triangle. Manatees and dugongs inhabit the coastal mangrove swamps and estuaries, and 14 species of whales and dolphins live around the coast and offshore islands, including rough-toothed, spinner and Risso’s dolphins, Blainville’s beaked and pygmy sperm whales.

SVALBARD Good spot: the world’s largest butterfly, the Queen Alexandria birdwing, floating through the coastal province of Oro on its 30cm (12in) wingspan Who can I sail with? Wildlife Worldwide; Tel 0845 130 6982; www.wildlifeworldwide.com Raggiana bird of paradise

Midway between continental Norway and the North Pole lies the archipelago of Svalbard, formerly known by the name of the largest island, Spitsbergen. Although they have an Arctic climate, the islands enjoy higher temperatures than other places in the same latitude which, coupled with the long, light summers, promotes good plant life, which in turn sustains a variety of animals. Although twice the size of Yorkshire, the archipelago has a population of only around 2,700. This lack of a human presence, along with strict local regulations and seven national parks, provides the wildlife with ample protection from disturbance. Unique to the area are the Svalbard reindeer, the smallest sub-species of this herd animal, with shorter legs and lighter-coloured hair. The biggest mammalian tourist attraction is the polar bear. There is a population of around 3,000 and the island group of Kong Karls Land – off-limits to visitors – is an important breeding ground and nursery for young bears. The other wildlife event that draws enthusiasts from around the world is the annual bird migration. The seabird cliffs, full of nesting gannets, black-legged kittiwakes, little auks, Brunnich’s guillemots and thick-billed murres, can best be appreciated from the water. On the land, barnacle, pink-footed and Brent geese breed, and red-throated divers occupy small tundra lakes around which Arctic terns set up their colonies. Cruising the seas around the archipelago should give good views of beluga whales, bearded and ringed seals, walrus, common and king eiders and long-tailed ducks.

Good spot: a thick-billed murre ‘flying’ through the water as it dives as deep as 100m (330ft) to find squid and shellfish Who can I sail with? One Ocean Expeditions; Tel +351 962 721 836; www.oneoceanexpeditions.com 62 AUGUST 2014

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GALAPAGOS

The magnificent frigatebird

The destination on most wildlifewatchers’ bucket list, the Galapagos Islands, lie around 960km (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador in South America. The volcanic terrain of the Galapagos archipelago provides a habitat for some interesting and often unique creatures that have benefitted from their isolation. Here there have been fewer predators, such as cats and rats, to devastate the 28 endemic bird species, and human interference has been reduced to a carefully controlled minimum to avoid disturbance to giant tortoises, marine iguanas and unusual flightless cormorants. These islands are, of course, most famous for their 13 different species of finch that provided Charles Darwin with the evidence for his theory of natural selection that revolutionised the world of science and nature in the 19th century. Also notable are the Galapagos penguins, as they are the

only species of penguin to live north of the equator. A cruise from Ecuador and around the Galapagos Islands should also provide views of one of the few endemic mammals, the Galapagos fur seal, as well as sea lions, the prehistoric-looking magnificent frigatebird and the impressively sized waved albatross. In the seas there may be schools of dolphins and passing pods of orcas or Bryde’s whales. Being on a ship should get you close to the wildlife on some of the smaller islands and perhaps give you the chance to snorkel with wildlife in the clear waters of a sheltered bay.

Good spot: a male lava lizard threatening intruders to its territory by doing ‘push-ups’ Who can I sail with? NatureTrek; Tel 01962 733 051; www.naturetrek.co.uk

The Galapagos archipelago provides a habitat for some interesting and often unique creatures

Marine iguanas are equally at home in water as on the land

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Never will the warmth and comfort of a cruise ship be so much appreciated as on a tour of Arctic waters, especially if you choose a trip that offers sea-kayaking or excursions in a RIB to get you close to the wildlife. In and around the Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada’s Baffin Island it should be possible to have close encounters with polar bears and walruses. In the waters around the islands there are ringed seals and, in summer, migrating harp seals. Beluga, or white whales also migrate along the coast of Baffin Island to their feeding grounds in the Strait. Other fascinating cetaceans are narwhal, the male with its extraordinary long spiral tusk. On land, lumbering shaggy musk ox inhabit the fjords of Greenland, along with barren-ground caribou, Arctic hares and wolves. Lemmings can be found throughout Baffin Island – an abundant food source for Arctic foxes and snowy owls.

Walruses lounge on the ice between Greenland and Baffin Island

AMAZON A cruise through the most biologically diverse region in the world has got to be the wildlife trip of a lifetime. Exploring the rainforest by boat brings a totally different dimension to a land-based tour. The river system can take you into far more remote areas to see animals that are rarely exposed to any form of human presence. The exotically named birdlife alone is enough to make your mouth water: point-tailed palmcreeper, screaming piha, hoatzin, sunbittern, king vulture and the mighty harpy eagle. The canopy of the virgin forest is full of brilliant colours and alien sounds. And its not just the birds that will serenade you night and day. Colombian and Guianan red howler monkeys live up to their names, and there are red-faced and black spider monkeys, golden-backed squirrel monkeys and golden-handed tamarins to spot in among the trees. Another unique sight, most easily viewed from the deck of a boat, are the Amazonian pink river dolphins and the less well-known tucuxi, which resembles the bottlenose dolphin, although it is slightly smaller. The other advantage of travelling by boat in this region is the opportunity to watch wildlife at night. There are many 64 AUGUST 2014

Good spot: a skirmish between competing male walruses, using their huge bulk to jostle each other while grunting and whistling Who can I sail with? Arctic Bound; Tel 0800 678 5237; www.arcticbound.com

Here: The distinctive pink river dolphin Inset: the bizarre great potoo has an unusual barking call

nocturnal animals and birds, such as the spectacled owl, to view.

Good spot: the strangely bug-eyed, two foot tall great potoo (right) with its loud barking call Who can I sail with? WildWings; Tel 0117 9658 333; www.wildwings.co.uk

CANADIAN ARCTIC

The Great Bear Rainforest on the remote west coast of British Columbia in Canada holds a secret treasure beyond the black and grizzly bears that feast on seasonal pink salmon. It is the home of the rarely seen, honey-coloured mooksgmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ol â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the spirit bear

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Ursa Major WORDS AND PHOTOS BY NICK GARBUTT

A spirit bear treads gingerly among the slippery rocks, looking for a fish supper

AUGUST 2014 67

distinguishing shape and form in dark recesses was tough. Then the bear stepped out into the open, and our response was a peculiar amalgamation of conflicting emotions, excitement and disappointment intertwined. It was a black bear, the first we’d seen, but it wasn’t the prize that we sought. We had come to see a far more rare and much revered animal, one that the First Nation communities call the mooksgm’ol – the spirit bear – an ursine contradiction, a white variant of the black bear.

HE RAIN WAS CONSTANT. It tapped out an incessant beat on the forest foliage as I stared intently through the curtain of falling water drops for any signs of activity.

All around was ancient coniferous forest, dominated by red cedar, hemlock and spruce, but within it nothing seemed to be moving. Only the occasional raucous cry of a raven broke the monotony of the rain’s percussion. An hour later, the rain had not eased, and the flow of the stream in front of us had visibly swollen. Then, in a very matter-of-fact tone, our guide Marven Robinson suddenly but quietly announced: “There’s a bear in the bushes just upstream.” Everyone swung around and peered intently in the direction he’d indicated. It was very gloomy, and

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MARVEN ROBINSON IS ‘MR SPIRIT BEAR’. He’s from the Gitga’at First Nation based in Hartley Bay at the heart of the remote wild coast of British Columbia known as the Great Bear Rainforest. Marven, now in his forties, has spent most of his adult life amongst the bears and knows all of them individually, and his dedication and determination has effectively facilitated the potential for spirit bear watching. He built the viewing platform on

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Trip Report

Clockwise from here: the rugged wilderness of British Columbia rising up from the Atnarko River; a black bear with his prize; grizzly bear tracks along the Atnarko; a humpback whale off Princes Royal Island; Marven Robinson, chief spirit bear guide

SOMOA, SOUTH PACIFIC

which we were standing overlooking a small stream on Gribbell Island, a prime hot spot for spirit bear watching â&#x20AC;&#x201C; except for today it seemed. The black bear was by now ambling nonchalantly along the streamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge, picking its way over boulders as the tumbling waters boiled around. Across the width of the stream, the backs and flanks of pink salmon could be seen flashing at the surface as they battled against the increasing torrent, desperate to reach the calmer waters of the spawning beds which were only a short distance upstream. It is, of course, this annual glut of salmon that attracts the bears, eager to fatten up before winter hibernation. By now our bear was immediately in front of the platform and was half-heartedly picking over the corpse of a dead fish: with so much food on their table they can afford to be choosey. As a live fish swam past, the bear made an immediate lunge and plunged its face into the water, emerging with a 50cm long salmon flapping in its jaws. As our day on the platform was drawing to a close, Marven took me to one side, out of ear-shot of other

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AUGUST 2014 69

WHALE WATCH

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World class whale & dolphin watching in the tranquil Azores. Relaxing full day tours - small group size (max 12). 6-8 SPECIES REGULARLY SEEN! Including: Sperm Whales, Bottlenose, Common, Striped, Spotted & Rissoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dolphin. Blue, Fin & Sei Whales (April/May), Beaked & Pilot Whales too.

www.whalewatchazores.com

Email: info@whalewatchazores.com Whale Watch Azores

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Pipe dream though Paradise Oil and water won’t mix in the fragile ecosystem of the Great Bear Rainforest

members of the group I was leading and told me of an alternative site we could try to see spirit bears the following day. He instantly had my full attention. It was a site on the opposite side of Gribbell Island, that hadn’t been developed, so there were no trails and no platform. In fact, hardly anyone ever went there, but Marven knew there were bears. It would be tough, but did we want to give it a try? For my money, tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

THE TRIP HAD BEGUN A WEEK EARLIER, when our group of 12 boarded the Island Roamer, a beautiful a 21m ketch-rigged yacht, in the sleepy coastal community of Bella Bella. Over the following days we sailed north, following a convoluted route through narrow channels and fjords, continuously surrounded by some of the most breathtaking scenery imaginable. Towering snow-capped mountains in the distance formed the backdrop to a landscape dominated by densely forested slopes and glassy waters, where ethereal mists twisted and swirled like dancing spirits. Each day, we had stopped at a hidden bay or concealed cove to go ashore and explore the path less trodden. Even where the smallest streams ended their short journey to the sea, salmon pushed through from salt into fresh water, running the gauntlet of predators gathering to feast. When there were no bears there were always bald eagles, countless gulls and even occasional wolves. The daily voyages between our anchoring sites were just as captivating and endlessly interesting. In the deeper channels we frequently encountered humpback whales, serenely diving Above: the yacht Island Roamer, one civilised way to see the wilderness and get close to its wildlife. Right: a bald eagle cannot fail to impress

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The waters of the Great Bear Rainforest are amongst the richest (in terms of species diversity and abundance) and most vulnerable on the planet. They are also extremely treacherous to navigate. In March 2006, the Queen of the North, a BC ferry, exited Grenville Channel near Hartley Bay (home of the Gitga’at First Nation), misjudged the turn and slammed into Gil Island. Largely thanks to the bravery and help of those from Hartley Bay, 99 of the 101 people on board survived. The wreck still lies in 400m of water and every day her fuel tanks leak more diesel into the sea. The effect of this isn’t really known, but it can’t be good and one day, perhaps after a bad winter storm, the fuel tanks will seriously rupture and tens of thousands of gallons may spill out in one go. Yet a far greater threat looms – the proposed Northern Gateway project, which intends to run a pipeline from Alberta in the Canadian interior to the British Columbia coast at Kitimat. The double pipeline would carry consolidate (the liquid used to dilute thick crude oil so it can flow) east to Alberta as well as crude oil west to Kitimat. This would require a fleet of giant tankers bringing in consolidate and taking away the crude – perhaps as many as 220 per year – and they would all have to navigate through the narrow channels

of the Great Bear Rainforest. If a modest sized vessel like the Queen of the North (150m long) can’t do it, what chance a supertanker twice the length? Environmentalists insist it is a disaster that is bound to happen. With each tanker carrying in excess of 2 million barrels of crude, the effects could be unthinkable and make the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster

that occurred further north in Alaskan waters, look like just a minor sort of incident. The immediate effects of an oil spill are obvious and well-known, thousands of pathetic, helpless birds and mammals smothered and poisoned, but the insidious long-term consequences are more difficult to define and fathom. The ecological web that weaves through the Great Bear Rainforest is so intricate and tangled, that the effects of an oil disaster would reach far beyond the immediate shores and potentially affect the economy of the whole of British Columbia.

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and then surfacing with a distinctive blow and plume of water vapour (if you are down wind and catch their breath it’s a distinctly unpleasant whiff of fishy rotting cabbage). On two memorable occasions we came across a pod of marauding orcas, probably not ‘resident’ animals (that feed exclusively on salmon), but much more elusive ‘transients’ that range over far greater distances and specialise in hunting marine mammals. We watched a pod chase down a young Stellar’s sea lion, although at a distance it was hard to see the final outcome (although we suspected it hadn’t ended well for the sea lion). Back on board Island Roamer after our day on the platform, I outlined the plan to the group for the following morning. We’d be up earlier than normal and set off to sail around the north of Gribbell Island to rendezvous with Marven as early as possible at the ‘secret’ site he had mentioned. Excited anticipation infused us all when we turned in for the night. The following morning we found Marven waiting on his boat in a small bay. He came onboard to brief

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Below: fish are so plentiful that the choice bits are taken from a catch and the rest is discarded

“As a live fish swam past, the bear made an immediate lunge and plunged its face into the water, emerging with a 50cm long salmon” us before we then set off to the shore in the inflatables. A jumble of dark boulders covered the shore making landing tricky, even on the rising tide. But the instant we were on land it was clear this was a very special place. Enraged by more overnight rain, a large stream flowed into the sea with brutal force, yet a handful of paces away inside the ancient forest there was an eerie tranquillity. Marven led the way up a rough animal trail, as we picked our way over fallen logs and roots wrapped in deep

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cushions of damp moss. We followed the course of the stream and a fetid aroma tugged my nasal passages, a pungent cocktail of heady pine, sea saltiness and rancid decay. The corpses of countless salmon, some almost whole, others decapitated and shredded, were strewn around the forest floor. It was a macabre scene resembling the aftermath of a Biblical flood.

WE STOPPED BY THE STREAM about 400m up from the shore. The waters were fast and broken as they cascaded over submerged rocks, and in places the regular banks had been breached and the dark but clear, tea-coloured water lapped around the trunks of the giant conifers. Even here there were salmon. We waited and Marven went scouting. When the call came it was impossible to move quickly over the slippery rocks and tangle of fallen trunks and branches. Would the bear remain in view long enough? When we caught up with him, Marven motioned for us to sit

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Below: bears are not the only predators on Gribbell Island: timber wolves rest on the shoreline

quietly on the bank and keep our eyes on the large fallen tree that straddled the stream edge on the opposite bank. It was only 10m away and Marven insisted just behind it was a spirit bear. We waited. Then I had one of those sixth-sense moments; the sudden feeling I was being watched. As I lifted my head, I met the stare of the spirit bear across the stream. We all gasped. The bear lifted its snout and twitched its nose as it checked smells. It came under the fallen log and walked into the stream, in front of us, intent on finding a meal. While black bears are known from across Canada wand the more wild areas of the USA, spirit bears are known only from the islands and some mainland areas centred on the Great Bear Rainforest. The phenomenon is the consequence of a recessive gene mutation (the same gene associated with red hair and fair skin in humans) and to be born white (they are actually more pale honey coloured) a bear must inherit

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the mutation from both parents. But the parents themselves are not necessarily white, they just need to carry and pass on the recessive gene. What is not known is why the mutation occurs in the first place and why it is restricted to the black bears of the Great Bear Rainforest. Our bear continued to work the stream, stepping from rock to rock, sniffing and picking at dead salmon along the edges. Every so often, it would rush through the shallows at salmon swimming upstream. More often than not the salmon escaped, but there were so many fish in the water that sooner or later the bear would trap one in its paws, grab it in its mouth and carry it to the bank. If the fish was female, the bear would simply stand on the body, ejecting a jet of red spherical eggs as if squeezing a toothpaste tube, before lapping up the bounty. If the fish was male, the bear bit off the top of the head, ate the fatty brain, then discarded the rest.

SITTING IN THIS PRIMORDIAL FOREST, surrounded by towering trees and watching this bear in such a relaxed, intimate way, it was easy to imagine we were witnessing an ancient scene untouched by humanity’s influence. Having a minimum impact on the environment, and living in harmony with it, is central to the Gitga’at First Nation. They have held this ethos for centuries and see little need to change even when adopting modernity. This ‘in harmony’ philosophy runs through the core of Marven Robinson’s approach to spirit bear watching. It is very earthy and there are few frills, but the experience is so much the better for it.

TRIP ADVISER

COST RATING

SAMPLE PACKAGE TOUR: Wildlife Worldwide offers a 12-day tour to the Great Bear Rainforest in August / September 2014 & 2015, which includes seven nights aboard the Island Roamer or its sister yacht Island Odyssey. Voyage routes vary depending on dates and conditions. September departures are the best for bears and normally begin in Prince Rupert and end in Bella Bella (or vice versa). They concentrate on areas that are good for seeing grizzly bears, black bears and spirit bears as well as plenty of whales and possibly even coastal wolves. From £4,745 including international flights to Vancouver. Single cabins are NOT available on board the yachts (www.wildlifeworldwide.com).

Above: an orca in Mathieson Channel. Below: looking for bears in Mussel Inlet

GETTING THERE: The Great Bear Rainforest is remote, so access is time consuming. International flights into Vancouver then give the option to fly with Coastal Pacific Air to Bella Bella, Bella Coola or Prince Rupert, where vessels can be boarded. There are also various land-based lodges with bear viewing options. These include Knight Inlet (www.grizzlytours.com) and Tweedsmuir Park Lodge (www.tweedsmuirparklodge. com) for grizzly bears and black bears, and Spirit Bear Lodge (www.spiritbear.com) for spirit and black bears. VISA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UK: UK citizens do not require a visa to visit Canada.

TIPS & WARNINGS: Be prepared for plenty of rain – wellies and good waterproof jackets and trousers are essential. Also, take one or two dry sacks for camera gear and other equipment. Temperatures in September can be cool, so pack warm clothing, too. Seas in the inshore areas are generally calm so motion sickness is not a real issue, unless you are particularly susceptible. Biting insects are not a problem.

WHEN TO GO: The best bear viewing – particularly spirit bears on Gribbell Island – is from the end of August until mid October, coinciding with major runs of salmon. Grizzly and black bears, which are easier to see, can be found along rivers earlier, but with less frequency.

TOUR OPERATORS

WILDLIFE WORLDWIDE, Tel: 0845 130 6982; www.wildlifeworldwide.com NATURAL WORLD SAFARIS, Tel: 01273 691 642; www.naturalworldsafaris.com BEAR TRAILS, Tel: 01946 841495; www.beartrails.co.uk 74 AUGUST 2014

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ESSENTIAL SPAIN Your complete wildlife-watching guide

78 WHY?

Teresa Farino explains why Spain is one of Europe’s top wildlife destinations

80 WHERE?

Your guide to Spain’s most spectacular wildlife-watching areas, from the Pyrenees to the Canary Islands

92 WHAT?

Iberian lynx, Spanish ibex and lammergeier are just a few of the species on our must-see list

97 HOW?

Everything you need to know before booking your trip to the wilds of Spain

Spanish

HIGHS WORDS BY TERESA FARINO

78 AUGUST 2014

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ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHY?

If you care to look beyond the ‘sun and sea’ package-holiday image that has dogged Spain for more than half a century, you’ll find one of Western Europe’s top wildlife watching destinations

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pain is somewhat divorced from the rest of Europe by the formidable mountain chain of the Pyrenees, while its southernmost shores lie only a few kilometres from the coast of Africa. It similarly divides the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea, and, as such, lies at a biological crossroads, containing floral and faunal elements from all four realms, plus a large dollop of species that are found nowhere else in the world. The range of habitats on offer is simply phenomenal, from snow-capped mountain ranges in excess of 3,000m, haunt of wallcreeper and southern chamois, to ancient deciduous forests, patrolled by brown bear and capercaillie. Further south, the unique wood–pasture known as dehesa provides breeding grounds for Spanish imperial eagle and black vulture, as well as wintering quarters for many thousands of cranes, while the extensive dry plains of the central plateau are populated by stately great bustards and whirring sandgrouse. Mighty rivers terminate in coastal estuaries and deltas teeming with waterbirds, between which lie long stretches of precipitous sea cliffs, rocky coves and pristine sand-dune systems. Further afield, two unique island realms – the Balearics in the Mediterranean and the volcanic archipelago of the Canaries, adrift in the Atlantic – harbour many endemic animals and plants. The combination of this immense diversity of natural habitats, low population density outside the principal cities and the maintenance of traditional low-intensity farming systems over much of the country means that Spain supports a wealth of flora and fauna unrivalled in Western Europe today. Here you can find almost 8,000 species of vascular plants, 80-plus reptiles and 30 amphibians, plus an incredible 250 species of butterflies. Among the 500 species of birds that have been recorded in Spain in the last 100 years are many that have their European breeding strongholds here, while the tally of native terrestrial mammals is close to 100 species. In short, Spain has to be the ideal destination for any travelling naturalist.

Left: a rare wild male Iberian lynx on the prowl in the Sierra de Andujar Natural Park in Jaen, Andalucía

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MY SPAIN JOHN MUDDEMAN Wildlife guide with The Travelling Naturalist Dropping off an overhang just yards in front of the vehicle as we rounded a bend, on fully spread wings it flashed across only to disappear down into a gorge in just a fraction of a second. But the beauty of its grey, black, crimson and white-spotted plumage left me speechless. The driver turned and smiled on seeing my expression, “Your first wallcreeper then!” Epitomising some of the most beautiful and remote mountain habitats in Northern Spain, rich in all forms of wildlife such as lammergeier and southern chamois, this scarce ‘avian butterfly’ breeds on vast expanses of remote limestone cliffs, moving to lower altitudes when forced to by winter weather. Every encounter a special experience. www.naturalist.co.uk

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Northern Spain and the Pyrenees With the exception of a narrow coastal strip, virtually the whole of northern Spain is mountainous, dominated by the broad spine of the Cordillera Cantábrica, which peaks at 2,648m in the Picos de Europa, runs west-east from the Portuguese border to Navarra, from whence it continues as the 400km long chain of the Pyrenees. Known as ‘Green Spain’, on account of the abundant precipitation brought in by Atlantic weather systems, the Cordillera Cantábrica is thickly cloaked with deciduous forest interspersed with floristically diverse haymeadows of Neolithic origin, teeming with orchids. Some of the best-preserved forests can be seen at Muniellos and Somiedo in Asturias, the refuge of brown bear, capercaillie, black woodpecker and forest raptors. Further east, the beechwoods of the Señorío de Bértiz

(Navarra) support an incredible seven species of woodpeckers, including white-backed. Above the tree-line, the bare bones of the land break through, with the Picos de Europa National Park possessing what is perhaps the most spectacular scenery of the Cordillera, with a flora and fauna to match. Gentians, saxifrages and houseleeks bloom in myriad limestone crevices, while wallcreepers and snow finches, southern chamois and snow voles, Alpine newts and apollos are among the many faunal highlights. Heading east into the Pyrenees, drier colder weather is responsible for the gradual replacement of the deciduous forest with conifers – pines and silver firs – which tower over carpets of wintergreens and yellow anemones. Capercaillies still haunt these vast coniferous forests, but here in the company of wildlifeextra.com

ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHERE?

While you’re there...

Tengmalm’s owls, looking down on them from their lofty heights. Prime high-mountain habitats in the Pyrenees are to be found in the Ordesa and Aigüestortes National Parks and other protected areas such as Larra, the Sierra de Guara and Benasque. This is the land of the lammergeier and ptarmigan, along with Alpine marmots and a wealth of butterflies – many endemic to the Pyrenees. Iconic plants on limestone outcrops include the spectacular Pyrenean saxifrage, mountain avens and ramonda, with more acidic bedrock offering glacier crowfoot, water saxifrage and snowbells. Along that narrow coastal strip, sheer cliffs alternate with sandy coves, estuaries and dune systems. Waterbirds winter by the thousand at Umía-Grove on the west coast wildlifeextra.com

of Galicia and the northern estuaries of Ortigueiro, Eo, Villaviciosa, Santoña and Urdaibai, while well-preserved sand-dune systems can be found at Corrubedo (Galicia) and Liencres (Cantabria). Declared principally for its seabird colonies and undersea habitats, the Illas Atlánticas National Park is centred on the Cíes archipelago off the west coast of Galicia. Northern Spain is particularly renowned for its assemblage of reptiles and amphibians, many of which are found nowhere else, notably golden-striped salamander, Iberian frog, Iberian rock lizard and Schreiber’s green lizard in the north-west, Seoane’s viper along the Cordillera Cantábrica, and Pyrenean brook newt, Pyrenean frog and several rock lizards of very restricted range.

Northern Spain is riddled with cave systems that were once inhabited by Palaeolithic man and often decorated with paintings of totemic animals of the period (left). Worth a visit are Tito Bustillo in Ribadesella (Asturias) and the Cuevas de Monte Castillo near Puente Viesgo (Cantabria), although the jewel in the crown – Altamira – is no longer open to the public, so you’ll have to make do with the replica in the museum there. Because northern Spain largely escaped dominion by the Moors it still harbours many Roman architectural gems, notably the virtually intact walls around the city of Lugo, constructed in the third century, and the Tower of Hercules at the entrance of the harbour of La Coruña, which is the only Roman lighthouse that still works (right). The Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) traverses northern Spain from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, where it is believed St James is buried, and is travelled by thousands of pilgrims each year.

Clockwise from far left: morning mist over Lake Riano with the Picos de Europa in the background; an inquisitive Alpine marmot in the Pyrenees; the southern chamois that inhabits the Picos; a scarce copper butterfly

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ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHERE?

Here: an Iberian wolf on Sierra de la Culebra in Zamora. Below: greylag geese and coots on Villafáfila lagoons

MY SPAIN MARTIN KELSEY Owner of Birding Extremadura The gently rolling plains change dramatically through the year, from the summer drought when golden and ochre hues and the scent of dusty grass embrace the senses, to the emerald green of winter. These are the two long seasons, bordered by two flowering “springs”, around both equinoxes. I think of early January, when a morning mist has dispersed and the sun strengthens – there are even two butterflies on the wing. Pin-tailed sandgrouse feed, periodically rising as a noisy flock, and a delightful little bustard pecks at crucifer flowers. Vultures find the first thermals and below them an eagle, sunlight catching the white leading edge to the wing – a Spanish Imperial. www. birdingextremadura.blogspot.com

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The Meseta and Extremadura Central Spain consists of a vast upland plateau, gently tilted towards Extremadura in the south-west, and split into north and south by the so-called ‘backbone of Spain’, the Sistema Central. The central sector of the chain – the Sierra de Guadarrama – has recently acquired national park status, largely on account of its extensive Scots pine forests, which help to support a large enclave of black vultures. The North Meseta, which rarely drops below 700m in altitude, is pretty well contiguous with the upper watershed of the mighty river Duero. Forested in the distant past, today these rolling plains support a mosaic of extensively farmed cereals and sheep pastures, slashed at intervals by deep limestone canyons known as hoces, which are home to an incalculable number of cliff-nesting birds. The Cañón de Río Lobos and the Hoces de Duratón and Río Riaza are supreme examples, all of which harbour

huge colonies of griffon vultures, typically accompanied by lesser numbers of golden eagles, Egyptian vultures and eagle owls. Not surprisingly, all this open countryside provides the perfect habitat for steppe birds, with pride of place going to the area around the Villafáfila lagoons, which harbours one of the highest densities of great bustards in the

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ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHERE?

world, together with some good numbers of lesser kestrels, Montagu’s harriers and calandra larks. Where remnants of forest persist, or pines have been planted, wolves can be found, particularly in peripheral hilly areas like the Sierra de la Culebra, sharing their territory with lesser carnivores such as wildcat and beech marten. The extensive vineyards of the South Meseta are punctuated by natural wetlands known collectively as La Mancha Húmeda, foremost among which is the Tablas de Daimiel National Park, which holds an incredible assemblage of reed-bed birds. The karstic lakes of Ruidera and the many small, semi-permanent lagoons scattered around Alcázar de San Juan are also of great ornithological interest, with the surrounding dry farmland notable for its breeding steppe bird community. Further west, the countryside changes dramatically, being clothed for the most part in an open wood–pasture known as dehesa, which provides both hunting and breeding grounds for good numbers of black vultures and Spanish imperial eagles. The Monfragüe and Cabañeros National Parks both contain large tracts of dehesa, where you might find 84 AUGUST 2014

such emblematic birds as black-winged kites and Iberian magpies, with steeper slopes clothed with relict fragments of Mediterranean forest. If you can see through the clouds of griffon vultures circling the riverside crags at Monfragüe, you should also be able to spot nesting black storks, golden eagles, Egyptian vultures and eagle owls. Lastly, the arid Extremaduran pseudosteppes support some superlative resident populations of great and little bustards, stone curlew, pin-tailed and black-bellied sandgrouse. All of these are joined in summer by Montagu’s harriers, lesser kestrels and rollers galore.

Don’t miss out on a visit to Atapuerca, near Burgos, the cave system of which contains the world’s largest collection of hominid fossils, including the remains of the earliest European human beings, thought to be almost a million years old (left). Almost every city that’s in the Meseta possesses, at its heart, an ancient complex which is of great architectural worth, with notable examples being Toledo, Salamanca – home to the oldest university in Spain – and the walled settlements of Cuenca and Ávila. You simply cannot leave Extremadura without visiting Mérida (Emerita Augusta), founded by the Romans in 25 BC as the capital of the province of Lusitania. To this day much of the town’s Roman architecture remains almost intact, and includes the aqueduct, the amphitheatre and theatre (right), circus and forum. The Roman aqueduct at Segovia is also worth a look, as is the landscape of sculptured ochre pinnacles created by the Romans at gold mines at Las Médulas near the town of Ponferrada.

Top left: Monfragüe Castle, inside the National Park. Below: a European roller

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While you’re there...

SUE EATOCK Specialist in wildlife and habitats During the heat of summer the air is heavy with the smell of pines and alive with the powerful call of cicadas. My favourite walk is along a river bank, brushing past aromatic herbs that add a different accent to the pine scent. The water will not flow again until the autumn rains arrive, which means that the remaining, deeper pools are hives of activity. A slow, quiet approach ensures good views of sunbathing terrapins and hopefully a glimpse of a kingfisher. Dragonflies dart from a favourite perch to grab a snack mid-air, and flying above in the rich blue skies are brightly coloured european bee-eaters, a pair of magnificent short-toed eagles and, in the distance, the ever-present griffon vultures. www.wildsideholidays.com

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Andalucía Lying at the join between Europe and Africa and straddling the Atlantic-Mediterranean divide, Andalucía is without a doubt one of the most diverse regions in the whole of Spain in terms of habitats and species. Morocco is almost literally just a stone’s throw away – the Strait of Gibraltar is only 14km wide at its narrowest point – so it is hardly surprising that the fauna of the region is rich in essentially North African species, notably small-spotted genet, Egyptian mongoose, Mediterranean chameleon and butterflies such as Zeller’s skipper, Lorquin’s blue and Aetherie fritillary. Similarly, of the 5,000-odd species that make up the Andalusian flora, many are so-called Afro-Iberian endemics. More than one-fifth of Andalucía lies within protected areas of one degree or another, including two emblematic national parks, Doñana and the Sierra Nevada, the latter harbouring the highest mountain in

mainland Spain, Mulhacén, which tops out at 3,482m. The extensive wetlands of the Doñana National Park – one of Western Europe’s prime birdwatching destinations, with almost 400 species of birds recorded – attract more than a million wintering waterbirds, as well as the largest spoonbill colony in Europe and important nuclei of Iberian lynx, Spanish imperial eagle and spur-thighed tortoise. By contrast, the vast Sierra Nevada National Park is perhaps of greatest interest for its endemic flora and 120-plus species of butterflies, including several that are found nowhere else in the world: Zullich’s and Nevada blues, Spanish brassy ringlet and the Nevada grayling. Of greatest botanical significance are the alpine scree and fissure communities, home to a whole host of Nevada endemics: Ranunculus acetosellifolius, Viola crassiuscula, Saxifraga nevadensis, and Linaria glacialis, to

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MY SPAIN

ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHERE?

Here: Albufera of Valencia Natural Park. Below left: two Lilford’s wall lizards. Bottom: a hoopoe in Majorca

Eastern Spain and the Baleares

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Despite attracting millions of sun-seekers every year, the east coast of Spain still has many natural enclaves which contain a wealth of wildlife. Catalunya boasts the limestone promontory of Cap de Creus and the huge fan-shaped delta at the mouth of the river Ebro, home to the world’s largest colony of Audouin’s gulls. Further south lie the Albufera coastal wetland, the monolithic Penyal d’Ifac and the Santa Pola saltpans of the País Valencià, while Murcia’s hotspot is a vast coastal lagoon known as the Mar Menor. A little inland, La Garrotxa’s rich deciduous forests clothe the most extensive volcanic area in mainland Spain, while the iconic ‘stegosaurus’ silhouette of Montserrat’s pinnacles is visible for miles around. The steppes around Lleida still support small populations of little bustards, sandgrouse and Dupont’s larks, while the high limestone massifs just south of the Ebro Delta – Tortosa, Beseit and Morella – harbour a curious mixture of Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean

vegetation, as well as Spanish ibex. The Balearic archipelago consists of five main islands and almost 200 offshore islets. Open garrigue – soft-leaved scrubland – throughout the islands is the preferred habitat of the endemic Balearic warbler, and many plants clinging to coastal cliffs are unique to the area. Mallorca is the largest island, dominated by the serrated limestone peaks of the Serra de Tramuntana along its northern flank, and home to the endemic Mallorcan midwife toad and the world’s only island population of black vultures. On the east coast, the S’Albufera wetland is notable for its heronries, purple gallinules and moustached warblers, with coastal sand-dunes nearby a renowned haunt of Hermann’s tortoises. The only Balearic national park, the Arxipèlag de Cabrera, hosts exceptional seabird colonies, notably of the endemic Balearic shearwater, plus breeding osprey and Eleonora’s falcon and the bulk of the world population of Lilford’s wall lizard. AUGUST 2014 89

ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHERE? Here: a sperm whale off Tenerife. Below: the coastline of Tenerife with the valley of Orotava and the mountain of Teide in the background. Bottom: a displaying Houbara bustard

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Taburiente on La Palma; and the lichenfestooned laurel forests of Garajonay on the island of La Gomera. These four by no means encompass all the habitat types and emblematic species of the archipelago, however. For the arid badlands of the lower reaches, where Houbara bustards strut their stuff in the company of cream-coloured coursers and Canary endemic races of Egyptian vulture, stone curlew and trumpeter finch, visit the desert-like Jable on Lanzarote or the Jandía peninsula on Fuerteventura. Middle-altitude dry juniper forests on the western and central islands harbour wild dragon-trees and Canary palms. Superb seabird colonies are another feature of the Canaries, particularly on the Chinijo archipelago to the north of Lanzarote, with little shearwater, Bulwer’s petrel and Madeiran and white-faced storm-petrels being the highlights. Whale-watching is also very rewarding in the deep, semi-tropical waters here, offering short-finned pilot, sperm, pygmy sperm and Cuvier’s beaked whales.

ALAMY

Comprising seven principal islands and a plethora of lesser islets, the volcanic Canary archipelago lies more than 1,000km south of the Spanish mainland, just 100km west of the African coast. Oceanic isolation has given rise to a high degree of endemism, particularly among the flora (some 500 unique taxa) and insects, many of which are flightless, as well as 14 unique species of lizards, geckos and skinks, some of which are veritable giants. The archipelago is even home to two terrestrial mammals found nowhere else in the world – Canary shrew and Canary big-eared bat – as well as five endemic birds: Bolle’s and laurel pigeons, Canary Islands stonechat, Canary Islands chiffchaff and the blue chaffinch. The Canaries host no fewer than four of Spain’s 15 national parks: the pristine volcanic landscapes of Timanfaya (Lanzarote); the subalpine crater around Teide – Spain’s highest peak (3,715m) – on Tenerife, studded with hemispherical cushion-plants known as ‘vegetable sheep’, the jagged cirque of La Caldera de

Canary Islands

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Ones to watch

A feast of birds, mammals, insects and reptiles await in Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national parks and wild places 92 AUGUST 2014

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ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHAT?

Mediterranean chameleon Chamaeleo chamaeleon Peering lugubriously at you through slender branches, your first Mediterranean chameleon has to be seen to be believed. Gun-turret eyes swivel independently to follow your every movement, and you cannot help wondering how evolution managed to come up with a reptile of such unlikely design. With a body that is flattened from side to side, the largest individuals measure almost 30cm, from a square-ish head, topped by an angular crest to the tip of their long prehensile tails. Their forceps-like feet have opposable toes: two outer and three inner on the front legs and vice versa on the rear. Masters of camouflage, Mediterranean chameleons are able to change both their colour and pattern rapidly in response to temperature fluctuations, to blend in with their surroundings and for social interaction, as well to indicate their reproductive status. They feed largely on insects, which they catch with long protractile tongues. In Spain, Mediterranean chameleons can be found along the coastal strip of Andalucía, particularly in Huelva, Cádiz and Málaga provinces. They are active during the hottest part of the day in spring and autumn, but are more likely to be located in the morning or evening in high summer. Spotting tip: Search in the tops of white broom (Retama monosperma) bushes on coastal sand-dunes between April and November.

Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus Known as quebrantahuesos (bone breaker) in Spanish, on account of its propensity for dropping bones from a great height to smash them and thus expose the marrow, the lammergeier is the rarest of the four Spanish vultures. The Spanish Pyrenees holds the bulk of the European population of this elegant raptor (estimated at 120-odd pairs/trios), with small numbers wildlifeextra.com

also recently reintroduced to the Picos de Europa (Northern Spain) and the Sierra de Cazorla (Andalucía). With a wingspan of around 270cm, an adult lammergeier is an impressive sight indeed. As it cruises gracefully along the cliff-face, the combination of narrow, pointed wings, ochre belly and long, diamond-shaped tail is unmistakeable. If you’re lucky enough to have one pass right over your head, you should even be able to detect the tufts of black bristles found

under the chin, for which it is also called ‘bearded vulture’. Adult lammergeiers are sedentary and faithful to their territories all year round, although young birds, up to the age of five or six, travel long distances in search of a suitable territory of their own, and are often seen far from their Pyrenean stronghold. Spotting tip: It’s often easier to watch the cliffs for passing shadows and then look for the bird itself. AUGUST 2014 93

Among the best places to see Iberian lynx are the Doñana National Park and the Sierra de Andújar

Lynx pardinus Endemic to southwest Spain and eastern Portugal, the Iberian lynx has the dubious distinction of being considered the world’s most endangered feline. An all-time low of about 100 individuals in 2005 has recovered somewhat in recent years, helped by captive breeding and release programmes, such that the wild population is now thought to number in excess of 300 animals. Iberian lynx possess the characteristic ‘sideburns’ and tufted ears of all members of this genus, as well as the typical long legs and short, black-tipped tail. Its black-speckled coat is excellent camouflage in the sun-dappled shade of Mediterranean scrublands. Among the best places to see Iberian lynx are the Doñana National Park and the Sierra de Andújar, in north-western Jaén, where there are healthy populations of rabbits – their principal prey. Their preferred habitat is a mosaic of dense maquis, which provides shelter for the young, and grassy clearings where rabbits feed, but always far from human habitation. Spotting tip: Select a viewpoint from which you can scan a wide swathe of suitable habitat with a telescope, and be in position well before dawn or dusk so as not to alert the animals to your presence.

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Iberian lynx

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ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHAT?

Great bustard Otis tarda Spain is home to around 23,000 great bustards (60 per cent of the western European population), the majority of which live in the sweeping plains of the central plateau, or Meseta, and Extremadura. Adult males weigh in at a maximum of 16kg, which makes them the heaviest birds of the region by far, although the much smaller females rarely exceed 4.5kg. In the breeding season, the males acquire long, bristle-like tufts of feathers on each side of the chin, giving them a distinctly regal appearance. Spotting tip: The ‘snowball’ display of a male great bustard trying to impress a bunch of females during their spring courtship is nothing short of incredible.

Spanish ibex Capra pyrenaica This robust mountain goat – unique to Spain – displays the typical sexual dimorphism of the group, with adult males boasting flamboyant black markings along the ridge of the spine and on their flanks and legs, a short ‘beard’ and huge (up to 75cm), ridged, lyre-shaped horns in the oldest individuals. Females are smaller, with short, cylindrical horns and have more cryptically coloured coats. Adults and young alike are superbly agile, and can negotiate seemingly vertical crags with consummate ease. In summer, Spanish ibex can be seen relatively easily above the tree-line in the Sierra de Gredos in central Spain (subspecies victoriae) and in the mountains of Andalucía and eastern Spain (subspecies hispanica), particularly the Sierra Nevada, Serranía de Ronda, the Sierras de Cazorla and Segura and the Ports de Beseit. In winter they tend to congregate in forests at lower levels to avoid the worst vagaries of the weather. Spotting tip: In summer, head for the heights and scan the crags. Spanish ibex are not particularly shy, so even around the car park will do!

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AUGUST 2014 95

ESSENTIAL SPAIN WHAT?

Zerynthia rumina One of Spain’s more charismatic butterflies, this diminutive member of the swallowtail family boasts an intricate pattern of red, black and yellow, with deeply scalloped hindwings and transparent ‘windows’ in the tips of the forewings. Although widespread in the Iberian Peninsula, Spanish festoons are most commonly seen in central and western Spain, from sea level up to altitudes of around 1,200m. However, they occur only where there are stands of birthworts (Aristolochia spp.), which is the foodplant of the caterpillars, in habitats ranging from flowery meadows to hot scrubby hillsides and dry riverbeds. The adults start flying as early as February in warm southerly lowlands, but can be observed into June in cooler upland regions. Spotting tip: Despite their distinctive coloration, Spanish festoons appear pale brown at a distance, but they can be picked out by their gliding flight and their habit of perching on dead flower-stalks.

Spanish imperial eagle Aquila adalberti In a country renowned for its raptor populations, the Spanish imperial eagle is undoubtedly the jewel in the crown. Unique to the Iberian Península, this magnificent raptor teetered on the brink of extinction in the middle of the last

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Spanish festoon

century, but determined conservation efforts have resulted in a population of more than 250 pairs today. Adult Spanish imperial eagles are instantly recognisable by the pure white leading edge to the wings, easily visible from both above and below at close quarters. They feed primarily on rabbits and nest in large trees, be they pines, evergreen oaks or even eucalypts. Among

the best places to see them are the Doñana and Monfragüe National Parks and north of Madrid, in the Gredos and Guadarrama mountain ranges. Spotting tip: Aim for mid-morning in sunny weather, when the thermals are well established, but don’t leave it too late, otherwise the birds will have spiralled up out of sight.

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ESSENTIAL SPAIN HOW? Classic Itinerary

Madrid to Sierra de Guadarrama National Park DAYS 1-3 ■ Extensive Scots pine forests ■ Black vultures, Spanish ibex, wild boar, golden eagles

PAMPLONA

VALLADOLID Monfragüe National Park DAYS 4-6 ■ Special protection area for birds ■ Bonelli’s eagles, black storks, azure-winged magpies

ZARAGOZA

Sierra de Guadarrama National Park

MADRID Grazalema Natural Park DAYS 7-9 ■ Limestone pinnacles and Spanish fir forests ■ Egyptian vultures, Iberian worm-lizards, short-toed eagles

TOLEDO

Monfragüe National Park

VALENCIA

ALICANTE Doñana National Park DAYS 10-12 ■ Unique wetlands and migration hotspot ■ Iberian lynx, imperial eagles, greater flamingos, ocellated lizards

Doñana National Park

Grazalema Natural Park

CADIZ GIBRALTAR

Factfile COUNTRY FACTS Location: Southern Europe Capital city: Madrid Terrain: very varied, from the rugged mountains of the Pyrenees, the Sierra Nevada and the volcanic Pico de Teide on Tenerife, to the arid plateaus in the centre of the country and marshy lowlands round the edges Highest point: Mulhacen in the Sierra Nevada, at 3,482m (11,424ft) the highest peak in Europe outside of the Alps and Caucasus Mountains Population: 46,507,760 at the end of 2013 Nature reserves: 15 national parks (10 on the mainland, 1 on the Balearic Islands, 4 on the Canary Islands), 19 major natural parks and many more minor ones Currency: the Euro Time zone: GMT plus 2 hours Flight time from the UK: approx 2 hours from London to Madrid Travelling around: Spain has the largest network of high speed trains in Europe. Renfe, the national train company, offers discounts online (www.renfe.com). It also sells integrated long distance train and bus tickets. CLIMATE Because of its large size, Spain encompasses three different climate zones. Mediterranean Spain has hot, dry summers with high sunshine levels and mild winters. Central Spain and the Atlantic coast have very hot summers and low rainfall, but snow on the sierras in winter and wind. North and northwest Spain have cooler summers and can have rain all year round. wildlifeextra.com

WHEN TO GO April, May, June, September and October give the most comfortable weather conditions for walking around nature reserves, but for some specialist animals you may have to brave the summer’s heat or the winter cold. TIP & WARNINGS In some of the remoter areas shops and restaurants may be closed out of season. Dogs don’t carry rabies in Spain, but bats do, so if you are exploring bat caves and are bitten seek medical help. Be aware that bat bites can be hard to see. Pack hats and sunscreen because the Spanish sun is hot, especially on the central plateau and the south, but also even in the mountains. PARADORES AND CAMP SITES Accommodation near wildlife hotspots, including higher cost heritage buildings, restored and run as hotels, and more budget-priced family camping. NORTHERN SPAIN AND THE PYRENEES

Parador National Monasterio de Corias – a former monastery in Asturias near the forests of Somiedo www.parador.es/en/paradores/parador-de-corias Picos de Europa Camping – situated between the national park and the northern Spanish beaches www.picos-europa.com THE MESETA AND EXTREMADURA

Parador Guadalupe – formerly the 15th century Hospital of St John the Baptist between National Parks www.parador.es/en/paradores/parador-de-guadalupe Camping Costajan – near the town of Aranda de Duero, not far from the Cañón de Río Lobos. www. alanrogers.com/campsites/camping-costajan-ES92500

A 12-day tour from Madrid to Cadiz to see some of the varied habitat and wildlife Spain has to offer EASTERN SPAIN AND THE BALEARES

Parador de Tortosa – created from a 10th century castle near the Ebro river delta and the limestone massif www.paradors.net/hotels/tortosa/parador-de-tortosa Camping La Manga Costa Calida – on the shores of the Mar Menor and near the Calblanque nature reserve www.caravaning.es ANDALUCIA

Parador Mazagon – inside the Doñana National Park. The hotel can arrange trips into the park www.paradores-spain.com/spain/pmazagon.html Camping Orgiva – situated on the edge of the Sierra Nevada National Park close to numerous hiking trails www.spaincamping.com/camping-orgiva CANARY ISLANDS

Parador de Canadas del Teide – a mountain lodge located inside the extinct crater of Teide mountain www.paradores-spain.com/spain/pcanadasteide.html Camping La Vista – pitches for tents and rooms in the heart of the forest of El Cedro on La Gomera http://camping-lavista.jimdo.com MORE INFORMATION www.spain.info TOUR OPERATORS Iberian Wildlife Tours, teresa@iberianwildlife.com; www.iberianwildlife.com NatureTrek, Tel: 01962 733 051; www.naturetrek.co.uk The Travelling Naturalist, Tel: 01305 267 994; www.naturalist.co.uk Greentours, Tel: 01298 83 563 www.greentours.co.uk AUGUST 2014 97

Theknowledge Your wildlife travel survival guide

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

Treat an injured elephant Rob Brandford of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust explains how they treat injured wild elephants with the help of the Kenya Wildlife Service and its various vet teams

he mechanics of treating any injured wild animal are not straightforward. For any big animal like an elephant, it can also be dangerous, both for them and for you. Locating any animal in the vastness of Africa is the first hurdle. Roaming anti-poaching patrols and aerial surveillance are key to spotting injured elephants, as are community scouts. Once one is found, it’s a race against time to organise swift treatment. Often an elephant must be separated from the herd and darted with a tranquilliser gun. Sedation can be risky as elephants must fall on their sides, not their haunches, to avoid their weight putting pressure on their heart and lungs. Ground teams always remain on standby with a Land Rover or tractor to pull the elephant onto its side should it land on its front – in this position it will typically survive no more than 15 minutes. To ensure the elephant can continue to breathe, the trunk must be propped open, a stick does the job well, and water splashed on, and behind, the visible ear to help keep the body cool throughout. Injuries can be wounds caused by bullets, spears, snares and poisoned arrows, and they can quickly become infected. For those elephants with calves it’s a race, not just to save the mother, but to secure the future of her family, too. Sadly, even baby elephants with no tusks can be injured during a poaching attack, and they are often found suffering from all kinds of problems, including bones shattered by bullets. Treatment type and duration depends

An injured elephant bull being treated by the mobile vet unit. It went on to make a good recovery

on the wound; removing poisoned arrows can be a fairly simple and quick operation, taking about 15 minutes. Bullet wounds are the most difficult, as it can be impossible to retrieve the bullets, which can soon become embedded deep in an elephant’s body. Operations can take from a few minutes to a couple of hours, after which the wound is flushed and packed with antiseptics and green clay. This is natural clay that helps speed the healing and keeps insects and external matter away from the wound. Antibiotics and painkillers are then almost always administered, along with a reversal to the anaesthetic. Should the elephant be unable to stand, a tractor or

vehicle is always on standby with strapping safety equipment attached so the elephant can be helped to its feet. Follow-up treatments might sometimes be necessary and ground and air teams will check on injured elephants in subsequent weeks to ensure successful recovery. Ultimate satisfaction is seeing an elephant walk away, back into the bush. They almost always glance back at those who treated them. Spotting injured animals early is key. If you are in Kenya and see any injured wild animal, ask your guide or tour operator to call the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The emergency number is +254 (0) 723 535 395, or call Kenya Wildlife Service Veterinary Unit +254 (0) 726 610 508.

Write and tell us about your wildlife experiences by emailing editorial@wildtravelmag.com wildlifeextra.com

AUGUST 2014 99

Theknowledge

Skills

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

Insider’s guide to...

Creating a bat-friendly garden Your garden can play a crucial role in bat conservation, says Shirley Thompson from the Bat Conservation Trust. Here are her tips for how to ensure it does

ll of our UK bats eat insects, but different species have different preferences, and also different methods of catching their prey. To optimise the value of your garden to these flying mammals you need to attract a range of insects throughout the year. Summer is the most energy-sapping time, especially for pregnant and lactating females, but spring and autumn are also crucial. Bats need to fatten up in autumn and refuel when coming out of hibernation in spring, so aim to have plants in flower from early spring to late autumn and beyond. Colour and perfume are flowers’ advertising labels, with sweet nectar

and protein-rich pollen serving as bait for insects. By offering a diversity of flowers, a greater diversity of insects will be attracted to drop in. Tiny pipistrelle bats can only cope with the small insects that feed on flowers with shallow tubular florets, such as daisies and daisy-like flowers. In contrast, long-eared bats are able to take much larger prey, so may be seen hovering close to deeper flowers such as honeysuckle. Bats feed at dusk and dawn, so try to include flowers that are obvious and advertise themselves to insects at this time. Pale and tall flowers are more easily seen in poor light, while some plants produce more scent in the evening to attract insects. Many insect larvae feed on grasses, so leave a corner of your lawn uncut and natural where insects can feed and overwinter. A small native tree or shrub widens the menu. Many insects spend the first part of their

life in water as larvae, so a pond of any size, a marshy area or even a half-barrel ‘pond’ provides an additional attraction. By following these straightforward steps you can make your patch an attractive dining place for bats, and have the immense pleasure of watching them enjoying your garden as much as you enjoy the spectacle of their aerial acrobatics. www.bats.org.uk

Survival skills

Building an emergency shelter Scott Heffield of Bear Grylls Survival Academy on how to cope if you’re out in the elements First, use the environment and try to find something to work with, such as a cave or fallen tree. The site should be flat, protected from wind, close to water (but not right by it due to the danger of flash flooding), fuel for fires, and access to high ground for rescue. Next, forage for ferns, bark and leaves for insulation. Normal body temperature is 37°C. Just one degree lower and the body starts to feel the effects of cold, and at 35°C hypothermia kicks in, so keeping warm is a priority. Fill both the inside of the

100 AUGUST 2014

shelter, remembering the floor, and cover the outside completely. If you are lucky enough to find metal sheeting, this can be used for sections of roof. But an even better solution is to stand it up, angle or bend it for use as a fire reflector. Place it at the entrance of the shelter about 1m away, light your fire at its base and, instead of losing half your heat, reflect it back into your shelter. Plastic bags/sheeting are great as a waterproof layer for the roof or to stuff into any gaps to keep the shelter draft-proof.

Your shelter shouldn’t be too big. Small and snug is good, just enough for you or your party. If you’re close together you can share body heat. Lastly, remember that no amount of ingenuity on the ground makes up for good preparation. Cold, wet and wind, added to exhaustion and poor clothing, combine to create big problems. Always have spare dry clothing in a waterproof bag within your rucksack and carry a survival, or bivvy, bag.

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Theknowledge

Volunteering Tangible benefits Dr Matthias Hammer of Biosphere Expeditions explains how to pick a project that genuinely benefits the wildlife you’re hoping to protect

Tangible benefits

Designing a flash website is not hard. But does the organisation tell you about its achievements? You contribute your time and money, so where does it go? It could be the creation of protected areas, resolution of human-wildlife conflict, inclusion of recommendations into regional or national conservation action plans, change in legislation or policy, details about capacitybuilding or educational activities. Anything tangible and quantifiable that shows that your time and money achieves things. If you can’t find anything, be very wary. Publications

Wildlife conservation is also about publishing results and communicating your findings. Does the organisation do this and provide links to publications in

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www.thegreatprojects.com

Project profile

Voluntourism

oluntourism has come in for rough ride in the recent past, and rightly so. With impressive growth rates, profit-driven charlatans and pretenders have sadly flooded into the market. The worst examples include bogus animal sanctuaries and fake orphanages. When I started in 1999, volunteering was the domain of charities and NGOs. Now it is a multi-million pound business with far too many touchy-feely wildlife projects. Fortunately it’s not that hard to look behind the glitzy fronts. The best way to avoid the charlatans is to ask the right questions. For example: is the operator a non-profit organisation or a profit-driven business? What is the rationale for involving volunteers (what will they do exactly, where and when)? What will be the outcome and how will local people and/or wildlife benefit? Does the organisation have any achievements it can list, any awards or other accolades? Is it transparent in its finances and structure? A handful of pointed questions such as these will, in most cases, separate the good from the bad from the downright ugly.