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1. It's World Ranger Day on 31 July

   Posted on 11:00am Monday 31st Jul 2017

   The 31st July is a special day in the calendar for wildlife protection.   World Ranger Day  commemorates Rangers killed or injured in the line of duty.  And it celebrates the amazing work Rangers do around the world to protect the natural world.  The event is organised by the International Ranger Federation which works to raise awareness of and support the critical work rangers do. Its membership comprises of 63 ranger associations from 46 countries on 6 continents.  It seeks "to empower rangers by supporting their national or state ranger organizations, or assisting in the establishment of local ranger associations in countries where they do not currently exist".  You can find out more about it here World Rangers Day gives us all a chance to show our support and appreciation for the amazing men and women who defend wildlife on the front line of conservation. For over 30 years, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation has been standing with the world’s rangers every day.  This morning, I received an email to remind me of the way in which rangers work to protect wildlife and how the charity supports them.  I hope they will forgive me for relaying their email to you;  but it does sum up well the different types of work rangers are involved with.    Types of wildlife ranger include the following: Wildlife Rangers watch over wildlife.  They may care for young orphaned elephants until these wonderful majestic animals can re-join a release herd.  Some keep wildlife safe, often risking their own lives against the poachers.   Community Rangers raise awareness amongst local communities to make sure they understand how protecting wildlife can be beneficial; and also helping them live alongside them.  Some rangers have created women’s groups, making and selling crafts, so that locals have an alternative income. Intelligence and Investigation Rangers disrupt illegal wildlife trade routes and eliminate poaching hotspots.  They work day and night against the poachers. They are intelligence-led enforcement units, who are putting their lives on the line every day to protect wildlife. Veterinary Rangers help advise how best to look after vulnerable animals and give them a second chance at life   DSWF has been busy enabling rangers to remove traps and snares... About 90% of wildlife caught in snares are simply left to rot.  Snares are just pieces of wire, shaped in a loop and anchored down.   They are cheap and easy to make - and virtually impossible for animals to escape from. As animals struggle to escape, the result is that the wire grows tighter.  Wounds get deeper.  The animal suffers a long, agonising death. The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation funds ranger patrols in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda.  Every day, these rangers remove thousands of traps and snares.  Rangers report that as a result, they are now finding just one or two snares and traps whereas before, they would have removed hundreds.   This makes the area much safer for wildlife.  The equipment used to make snares and traps are turned to good use for other purposes and crucially the money earned from them is put to fight poachers and make life safer for wildlife.  You can help support these brave rangers by giving to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s ongoing Appeal.  Your help will enable the charity to train and equip more rangers to patrol these areas and you'll also help destroy the traps and snares found so that wildlife can't get trapped in them.  Donate by 12th September 2017, and a kind supporter will match the first £10,000 in donations.  They will do this until the September date or until the £10,000 is reached, whichever happens first.  You can use GiftAid in the UK to your unmatched donation. Donate here to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's Appeal

2. Vietnam to end bear bile farming

   Posted on 10:00pm Thursday 20th Jul 2017

    

   Great news from Vietnam for bears! The Vietnamese government has now agreed a plan to end bear bile farming in the country with Animals Asia. The Memorandum of Understanding outlines an agreement between Animals Asia nad the Vietnam Adminsistration of Forestry to work together to rescue the bears who are still caged on farms across Vietnam.  It is estimated that there are about 1,000 of them.  The Memo was signed and announced on Wednesday 19 July at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Essentially, the Memo commits the Vietnamese government to making sure that no bears are allowed to be kept by private households.  (It’s here that illegal bile extraction could take place.)    And the 1,000 bears currently held captive will be moved to sanctuaries.  Vietnam Director of Animals Asia, Tuan Bendixsen, said “This historic document ties NGOs and the government of Vietnam to a common goal – the end of bear bile farming in Vietnam.”  Bear bile farming was harming wild bears, whose population was dwindling, so hopefully the agreement will help show that the country is serious about the country’s remaining wild bears and protecting the heritage of future generations.  Key issues moving forward will be: How to fund and manage the sanctuaries How to proceed with the transfer of privately owned bears to rescue centres It is expected that new sanctuaries will need to be built, and help sought from existing sanctuaries run by animal conservation and welfare charities.  Animals Asia’s Founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:  “This agreement has been a long time coming with discussions beginning around 2014, so to see it finalised is a major step forward. This, of course, doesn’t end the work. Quite the opposite, but it now means we work together with a common goal – to end this cruelty. We’ve essentially sat down with the government and made a list of what needs to be completed to end bear bile farming and agreed to work through these issues together. The agreement will need the support and participation of many groups, NGO’s, government departments and animal lovers to make it happen, but Jill Robinson says, “pivotally we are all in agreement about what has to be done and now we can get on with seeing it through.” Click here to go to Animals Asia

    

3. Big cat tourism in South America can help jaguars

   Posted on 2:00pm Wednesday 19th Jul 2017

   There's some interesting research come from the University of East Anglia about big cat tourism. The overall message is that if we visit to see the jaguars, we will help them. Every year, thousands of tourists flock to the Pantanal, an area which spans Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.  They want to see the big cat - the jaguar, who can be pretty elusive. The Pantanal is widely considered to be the best place to see jaguars in the wild.  Most tourists come to see jaguars, the Giant Otter, Anaconda, Marsh Deer, Giant Anteaters and water birds.   The World Land Trust is based in the UK, and its partner, Guyra Paraguay, manage a 52,000 acre reserve in north-eastern Paraguay.  It runs the Three Giants Biological Station on the reserve.   The reserve, by the way, is named after the Giant Otter, Giant Anteater and the Giant Armadillo who are present around the station, which tourists can visit.  Most tourists want to see jaguars;  animal tracking marks such as footprints are often seen.   Even though Jaguar sightings are rare, they are frequently caught on trail cameras. Responsible Travel list a number of wildlife holidays in Brazil ©Responsible Travel The jaguar is also at odds with local farmers, for killing their livestock and who consequently resent this big cat.  Some farmers even go so far as to hire bounty hunters to kill off problem cats. A research team from UEA, the Federal University of Mato Grosso, and Panthera, the cat conservation group, looked at the human-wildlife conflict.  They studied the area of Porto Jofre.  Here, ecotourism lodges and working cattle ranches work side by side.  Researchers discovered that the annual revenues gained from watching jaguar tour packages were more than US$6.8 million.  However, in the same area, the damage to livestock was US$121,500. Furthermore, the researchers interviewed ecotourists in the area.  98% would be willing to pay an extra fee to compensate ranches for the cattle they lost to jaguars.  A considerable 80% were willing to give 6% of the tour package costs.   Professor Peres said: “The discrepancy between the financial benefits and costs of retaining jaguars provides a huge window of opportunity for the conservation of this flagship cat and many other species of the increasingly embattled Brazilian Pantanal.” In short, there is monetary value in keeping a good number of jaguars in the Pantenal. Best practice in cattle herd management can also help reduce losses to farmers and ranchers. And tourists can help by looking to select tourism operators that work with local people to benefit the community and reduce any human-wildlife conflict.   Interestingly, the Snow Leopard Trust has set up a compensation scheme to help those farmers who livestock are killed by snow leopards, and also to help the farmers better manage their herds.  And it seems to be working.  I just feel sorry for the livestock. Read the full study from the University of East Anglia here

4. Wildlfires affect animal and human health even if you don't live in the area

   Posted on 10:00pm Thursday 6th Jul 2017

   So you want to to be healthier, with a healthy diet, exercise, a good night's sleep and the physical and mental ability to live life to the full.   So how far have you thought about the air you breathe?  Wildfires have been ferocious this year - Chile, Portugal, Spain, the US for starters - and they affect not only those living in the area but also further away.  In the US west, Alaska and Canada, more than 9.8 MILLION acres burnt last year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center The American Lung Association has information on how wildfires affect people's health thousands of miles away.   It says in the US that climate change has caused higher spring and summer temperatures.  The snow has melted erlier, causing soils to be drier for longer and lengthening the wildfire season and increasing drought.  These hot, dry conditions can make fire more intense and also make it burn for longer.  Wildfires spread air pollution locally, but thousands of miles away.   For people, they can cause breathing difficulties in even healthy individuals, but particularly in hildren, older adults, and people with lung diseases such as asthma and COPD, and heart problems.  Although those in the immediate vicinity are of course affected first, fire and smoke spreads downwind.  Click here for more info The impact of wildfires on the animal kingdom and its habitat is horrific.   Domestic pets, working animals and wildlife die in large numbers as they have no fast way out.  Wildfires can spread at considerable speed.   Vigilence is essential to take care when it is particularly dry and hot.

    

5. Medieval aqueduct fights drought in Karnataka, India

   Posted on 10:00am Wednesday 7th Jun 2017

   It's always exciting to hear about projects to bring water to everyone, especially given that so many areas of the world are experiencing droughts.   I can't imagine anything worse that not having access to clean drinking water, for animals or people. So I was very interested to hear about a project in India to revive a medieval way to fight the drought in the area of Karnataka. The BBC have got a video on it, but essentially an enormous system of water channels connected by tunnels built by Medieval kings with pick axes and shovels sustained life in the settlements above.   These tunnels were carved out well below ground and they were discovered five years ago by Professor V Govindankutty.   A main well - known as a mother well - is dug in the place where there is enough water and taken to the place where you need it.   Volunteers spent ages clearing the channels of debris and silt.   These techniques were developed in Ancient Persia, i.e. a very long time ago.  With the ancient system begun again with about 50 wells in the area, they've all started having water.  To date, none of them have dried up.   Even in May, the area is still getting a good supply of water.   This is a very exciting discovery and I hope more places which experience tremendously dry spells will take a look at it.