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1. 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

2. 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.

    

3. 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.