Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2019 i BBC Wildlife Magazine

Little blobs of spindrift or spume spatter the countryside, snagged on everything from the base of grasses to the spines of gorse. Horseflies and even the stars have been blamed, and so – as its British common name of ‘cuckoo spit’ suggests – has the expectorated sputum of a once often-seen spring bird. It’s actually none of these things, as a little exploration with a moistened artist’s paintbrush will prove. Get up close and you’ll see that these lathery dollops comprise hundreds of tiny bubbles. If you slowly tease them away from the plant on which they are slung, you’ll uncover a rather lovely little yellow-green insect hidden away inside. Once you have uncovered it, a game of hide-and-seek often ensues, as the now vulnerable creature takes cover behind the…

The prehensile tails of muriquis not only help to propel them through the canopy, as they swing through the trees in a pendulum fashion, they are also strong enough to support their body weight fully while feeding and socialising. Many of the most succulent young leaves and juiciest berries grow on thin branch tips that would otherwise be inaccessible to such large monkeys, which can weigh 10kg or more. Muriquis’ tails also provide balance when they are leaping across gaps in the canopy or standing upright.…

“When the Serengeti National Park was founded in 1951, we weren’t allowed to be hunters anymore,” says William Chacha. “From that time onwards, we were considered poachers.” Traditionally, Chacha’s people, the Kuria tribe of northern Tanzania, hunted with poison-tipped arrows that could kill a buffalo within 10 minutes. “A few years ago, we learned an even faster way,” says the 42-year-old, who now works on the other side of the metaphorical fence as a wildlife spotter at the luxurious Bushtops Camp. “As far as I know, the Kuria are the only hunters who can kill a full-grown buffalo with just a sword.” The buffalo is often considered the most dangerous animal in Africa, and even Maasai warriors, famous for spearing lions, avoid the ‘widow makers’ at all costs. Swords known…

This is a welcome addition to the growing corpus of literature on a very topical and vital issue. As the catchy title suggests, there is plenty here for those, like me, whose primary passion is for birds, but there is also a wealth of information on rewilding in general, with reference to further reading. The book’s primary geographic focus is on Britain, but its well-travelled author draws on experience further afield, too. Ben Macdonald has an impressive track record as a field naturalist, wildlife film-maker and writer, and this passionate, authoritative, up-to-date and, ultimately, optimistic book is a worthy companion to such seminal works as George Monbiot’s Feral and Mark Cocker’s Our Place.…

How much plant knowledge do you need in order to go foraging? It certainly helps to know something about plants. But we happily send children out to pick blackberries – it is a simple matter to identify the majority of common plants and some that are edible are already familiar to many. Rosehips grow everywhere, including the garden, there are vast numbers of wild apples worth collecting and sloes for sloe gin. Fat hen, spear-leaved orache, chickweed, dandelion and stinging nettle are common garden weeds and are either familiar or easy to identify with the help of a book. What should we be looking for in April and May? There are dandelion and gorse flowers for a wine or syrup, bulrush, hop and ground elder shoots, and my favourite spring…

More amazing facts at discoverwildlife.com This month’s panel LEPIDOPTERA Can butterflies hear? A Butterflies are a rather quiet group on the whole, communicating visually and chemically, rather than acoustically, so they generally don’t have much use for ears. That said, there are exceptions. Satyrids – the group that includes browns and ringlets – have an eardrum at the base of each forewing, which is connected to a swollen vein along the wing’s leading edge. The vein gathers soundwaves and funnels them onto the eardrum. Their function, it seems, is to detect approaching predators, especially birds. The ears are particularly sensitive to low-pitched sounds, such as the flapping of feathered wings. SB BIRDS Do swallow fledglings return to the natal nest? A As with other birds, there is a strong selection…

SUZI ESZTERHAS Suzi photographed muriquis in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. “These gorgeous monkeys are some of the most unique primates on Earth,” she says, “but they are barely hanging on and need the world’s attention to survive.” See p18 KAREN B STRIER Primatologist Karen has been studying muriquis in Brazil since 1983. “I fell in love with them from the start,” she says. “Saving these peaceful primates from extinction became my purpose.” See p18 ISLA HODGSON Through her PhD research, Isla saw how human relationships are key to the raptor-grouse debate. “I spent the next three years immersing myself in the lives of those on both sides of the conflict,” she says. See p28 REBECCA PITMAN Conservationist Rebecca feels the natural world should be accessible to those with visual impairments. “Everybody…

The jumping skills of the adult common froghopper ( below ) shouldn’t be overlooked. They have a spring-loaded pair of hind legs so specialised that they’re folded up in a ready-cocked position and not used for walking at all. Large muscles, a natural spring made of resilin, and a locking mechanism, all enable this 6mm insect to leap some 60cm and accelerate at 4,000 metres per second. In so doing, it pulls a G-force of 400 times that of gravity – that’s 80 times more than that of an astronaut entering orbit!…

Located in Minas Gerais, the Reserva Particular de Patrimônio Natural, or RPPN Feliciano Miguel Abdala, was established in 2001 and named in honour of the landowner who preserved the forest and protected the muriquis during his lifetime. This private reserve supports one of the largest populations of the northern muriqui, making it one of the most important conservation priorities for the species. It is also home to the Muriqui Project of Caratinga, the longest-running field study of muriquis.…

“Life’s been better for my family since my son Charles became a ranger. When he got married, our last nine cows were used, so now the boma [corral] is empty. His wages bought us a concrete hut with an iron roof. We prefer the traditional Kuria houses we call inumba but there’s no building material left on the community land. The only wood and thatch is in the park. We were told tourists might come to visit us and perhaps buy something but I don’t think they’ll come when we all have tin roofs.”…

“Bushtops Camp supports my local school through donations from guests. I’d like to be a teacher. Life is hard for a farmer and dangerous for a hunter. It’d be fun to work with tourists but, last year, the authorities put new restrictions on park entrance [aimed at penalising camps outside the park] and now it is also hard for visitors in the park to come out on a day trip. When we had visitors, I enjoyed practising English, but it’s been a year since the last [white person] came to our village.”…

WHAT IS IT? This distinctive orange-flecked amphibian is armed with an unusual claw-like structure at the base of each thumb, although it’s not known whether it is wielded against predators or competitors. The frog is named in honour of an eminent taxonomist who discovered three related species in the 1980s. WHERE IS IT? Hyloscirtus hillisi was discovered in a dwarf forest on the plateau of a remote tabletop mountain in the Andes of Ecuador. The biologists behind the find recommend it is classified as Critically Endangered, due to immediate threats from deforestation and large-scale SOURCE ZooKeys: zookeys.pensoft.net/article/25207…

Having kittens Frightened voles have more babies, according to research published in Scientific Reports. In fact, just the scent of a male rodent that has been scared by a predator such as a weasel is enough to induce a female to produce bigger litters. Meat tax The Government should bring in a tax on meat, according to the Green Party MP Caroline Lucas. “Reducing unsustainable meat consumption needs education, changes to menus and subsidies for plant-based foods,” she says. Rare bird release One of the world’s rarest birds just got a tiny bit less rare – 21 captive-bred Madagascar pochards were released onto a lake in Madagascar at the end of 2018. The duck was believed to be extinct for many years, and there are only a handful left in…

The US is facing the worst assault on its wildlife and environment in living memory. As President Trump precipitously unravels years of hard-earned progress, heartbroken and beleaguered American conservationists are united in their fear for the future. The Trump administration was literally minutes old when all references to climate change disappeared from the White House website. Since then, it has been almost impossible to keep up with the torrent of executive orders reversing age-old environmental programmes, damaging reviews of conservation plans and legislation, drastic budget cuts for many critical scientific and environmental agencies, gagging orders, and much more. The biggie, of course, was the US’s announcement that it would be withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement. This landmark accord – an effort to curb global greenhouse gas emissions and limit…

Cranes breeding in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany head to France and Spain for the winter, using a route known as the West European Flyway, while birds that breed further east, from Finland to Russia and Mongolia, head to Tunisia, Ethiopia and southern Asia. To save energy, migrating flocks wait for a favourable tail wind, travel in V formation and use thermals to climb and then glide. With a fair wind, a flock can cross France in a day. They rest and refuel at ‘staging areas’ – often lakes. Traditionally, most cranes on the West European Flyway have wintered in the plains of south-west Spain. But in recent years, growing numbers have begun ‘short-stopping’ – cutting short the migration to spend the entire winter at staging areas in France and…

It’s hard to stand out when it comes to books about trees – there are so many on the market at the moment. However, Forest: Walking among  trees mixes wonderfully engaging writing with interesting atmospheric photography to provide a fresh look at 10 of Britain’s most familiar, yet often overlooked, tree species – from oak to birch and juniper to cherry. Each chapter includes personal encounters with individual trees, exploring their nature and history, conveying their essence, and that of the places in which they grow. You get a strong sense of journeying with the author to discover more about these special species and spaces. It does seem a shame that better justice has not been done to the great photography, but, that aside, you’ll find this warm, engaging and…

Water is a clear driving force across landlocked Botswana. In this one-off programme, not only do we follow elephants to scarce watering holes but we delve into the flooded landscape of the Okavango Delta, where everything from dragonflies to hippos ( below ) revel in their watery surroundings. In vast contrast to this lush landscape, we also visit the salt pan, a desert landscape that still sees an influx of life when rains fall here for a few weeks each year. Covering Botswana’s differing realms invariably involves encountering a plethora of species along the way. Though none are lingered upon for long, we still gain an insight into their lives.…

This remarkable book is about wildlife conservation like no other. The story starts in 2006, after Afghanistan has been racked by nearly 30 years of outside intervention and civil strife – Alex Dehgan is hired by the Wildlife Conservation Society to find out what’s happened to the country’s snow leopards, Marco Polo sheep and Iranian cheetahs. The minor obstacles are impassable roads, landmines and heaters that emit fatal quantities of carbon monoxide. Somehow Dehgan and his team survive – remarkably, some of the wildlife has, too.…

Most organisms get their energy and nutrients by eating other organisms. Something, though, has to be at the bottom of any food-chain. There, you’ll find autotrophs – life forms sustained by non-biological sources. Green plants, for example, are built from little more than carbon dioxide and water and powered by sunlight. On hydrothermal vents, where the sun doesn’t shine, microbes are fuelled by chemical energy. Some fungi even harness the power of radiation and can thrive inside nuclear reactors.…

There was a very long pause when we thought it might jump into the 4WD. We were visiting Bandhavgarh National Park, India, just after sunrise. It was the last safari of our trip. The previous four safaris had been blank, tiger-wise, as had my last three trips to other Indian reserves over the years. At about 8.30am, three guests and I were driving along in a 4WD, climbing a steep hill track, when we finally spotted a large female tiger and her two near-adult cubs on a rocky outcrop to our left. We were understandably excited, especially as we had the sighting to ourselves. Imagine how we felt when the big cats proceeded to descend to our track, cross it, and then approach us from the right-hand side. We had…

“Sociable lapwings tend to migrate in flocks, with up to 2,650 recorded on the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan border in the autumn of 2015. Large migrating flocks have also been observed in Turkey and Syria. In Kazakhstan, before they head off on migration, they also form large congregations of adults and juveniles. This tendency to migrate in flocks and breed in close proximity could explain their ‘sociable’ name.” Rob Sheldon consults through RDS Conservation.…

1 Lower Derwent Valley, in North Yorkshire, is a long, linear national nature reserve along the River Derwent. The flood meadows support a rich diversity of plants and outstanding populations of both breeding and wintering birds. 2 Ouse Washes, in Cambridgeshire, is famed for its overwintering swans and breeding waders in the summer. Most of this RSPB reserve’s grassland is still managed in the traditional way. 3 Pixey and Yarnton Meads, in Oxfordshire, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and forms part of the larger Oxford Meads. Hay cutting is now mimicked mechanically to ensure the floral interest remains. 4 Cricklade North Meadow is a national nature reserve in Wiltshire and has been managed by the townspeople of Cricklade for hundreds of years. It is famous for having around…

£35 the average price for an entire wildebeest carcass in rural communities. 3,000 snares confiscated in 1969. 17,000 snares confiscated in 2018. 3,500 the total number of lions in the Serengeti-Ngorongoro ecosystem. 250,000 the estimated number of wildebeest that die during the migration. 200,000 the estimated number of game poached in Serengeti in a single year. 2 million animals in the migration (wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and eland).…

Scientists are scrambling to determine the potential impact on the UK’s vulnerable brown hare population, following the confirmation that a deadly rabbit virus has been found in hares. The rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus type 2 was identified earlier this year in two locations in Dorset and Essex. “The virus normally affects rabbits, but the disease is known to have jumped to European brown hares in Italy, Spain, France and Australia. This is the first time that the virus has been found in hares in the UK,” says Dr Diana Bell from the University of East Anglia’s School of Biological Sciences. Concerns about new diseases in hares were raised last year after landowners, farmers and other members of the public started reporting sightings of sick and dead hares. “The virus is…

During the mid-1990s, Becky Ingham was selling newspaper advertising space in London while wondering how to get back into marine biology. Meanwhile, in Devon, two inventors had an idea for a way to protect albatrosses and other seabirds from a grisly death on longline fishing hooks. Happily for all concerned, their paths would cross, and the result is Hookpod, a device that could reduce seabird by-catch drastically. Ingham’s first step was to undertake a master’s degree in fisheries. “At the end of that, I had four months to come up with a way to pay for it.” Which she did by taking work as a fisheries observer in the Falklands. “That was where by-catch, the sheer scale of it, hit me. I decided I wanted to help solve it in…

Fondly known to Australians as the ‘GBR’, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the last truly wild places on Earth. Its immensity and varied seascapes are difficult to imagine. From the Ribbon Reefs of the wild north, it is over 1,200km to the Capricornia Cays – where Liz Bonnin and Blue Planet Live will be broadcasting live from the world-class research facility on picture-perfect Heron Island – and a further 400km eastwards to the mazes of the Swain Reefs. A common misconception is that the GBR is a single entity: the ‘world’s largest living thing’. Instead, it is the planet’s largest reef system, a network of over 2,900 individual reefs connected across an area larger than the UK. Some have never been visited by humans. At Heron Island Research…

Cranes flock to Lake Hornborga from mid-March to mid-April. Smaller numbers mid-August to September. Direct flights to Gothenburg airport depart from London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Manchester (British Airways, Norwegian and Ryanair). From here, Lake Hornborga is an easy two-hour drive on excellent, quiet roads. Stay in the forest near Lake Hornborga in the rustic chic of Herrtorps Qvarn (herrtorpsqvarn.se/eng) or at modern hotels in the towns of Skara and Falköping. Wildlife tours are offered by AviFauna Nature Tours (avifauna.co.uk) and Birding Ecotours (birdingecotours.com).…

When Caleb Compton started his @StrangeAnimals Twitter account in 2013, he probably didn’t realise it would gain more than 37,000 followers. Now, 100 of the animals he tweeted about feature in this book. It’s a small collection but its facts are mighty; from the primate whose red face is a sign of good health, to the chameleon that fits on the head of a matchstick, and the frog-faced turtle with a strike faster than a cobra’s. There’s a real mix of names, from the incredible, such as the marvellous spatuletail to the more mundane common gliding lizard. Many of the species were discovered only recently and many are endangered; Compton details all this and more.…

Earlier books by the prolific Lewis-Stempel have explored meadows and woods, oak trees and owls – subjects well served by nature writers. This time he dives deep into the watery world of ponds, a humble habitat long overlooked by authors. Loosely structured as a year in the life of a pond on his Herefordshire farm and a French étang, Still Water meanders in a mostly delightful way, though gets bogged down in memoir and tangential anecdotes. As ever, Lewis-Stempel’s prose is exquisite. If the land “is a body”, he muses, “ponds are its wet eyes.”…

OFF THE WALL Use vigorous spring and summer climbing flowers, such as rambling rose, jasmine and clematis, to provide hidden nesting sites for birds. SOWING SUNSHINE Cheery sunflowers are fun to grow, and bees will enjoy their nectar come August. Sow now in pots or in the ground and remember to leave drying seed heads to be devoured by goldfinches and greenfinches. POND PLANTS A combination of submerged, floating and marginal plants provide oxygen and habitat for pond life. Find RHS advice at bit.ly/rhspondplants.…

Developed by the Scottish Ornithologist’s Club, this brand new app is a handy tool for anyone planning a birdwatching trip north of the border. Clear graphics reveal the distribution of a wide variety of species, as well as pinpointing specific sites where you’re likely to find them, how accessible they are and how to get there. Fuelled by data from the BTO’s BirdTrack, the app supplies lists of recent sightings, including dates and the number of individuals seen. Users are encouraged to report their sightings, to help keep data up to date. Non-avian species also get a look in, with a mention of those you might see in the area.…

Many invertebrates – including caterpillars, moths, mantids and spiders – go for the bird-poo look. Some sport a glistening finish, as if they have been freshly deposited, others appear crumbly and desiccated. Either way, it can be an effective disguise. Especially when the mimic pays as much attention to detail as this Phrynarachne crab spider in Borneo. A particularly nice touch is the silken smear it spins on the leaf, which gives the impression of splattering on impact. Phrynarachne doesn’t just look like a bird dropping; it smells like one, too. The disguise repels arachnid predators, while also attracting blowfly prey.…

Your article on Katrina van Grouw (Bare bones, February 2019) mentions her belief that six-toed (polydactyl) cats originated in Atlantic sea ports because the ports were isolated from inland populations, allowing the mutation to spread locally, and then transported by sailors who thought them ‘lucky’. Variants of this theory have been around for many years. These cats may well have been preferred by sailors because they are reportedly even more agile, and therefore better mouse and rat catchers, than the standard five-toed domestic feline. However, the other part of the theory seems to me to contradict common sense. Ports were, by their nature, very well interconnected with their hinterlands and with other ports – more so than other places. Isn’t it more likely that the mutation proliferated among interbreeding ships’…