Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i BBC Wildlife Magazine

1 | GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL Here come the gulls With the British media’s traditional silly season in full swing, you can be sure of stories about aggressive ‘seagulls’, featuring harassed tourists and outraged locals calling for the chip-stealing, pavement-fouling pests to be culled. A 2017 study found that in summer the number of gull articles soars; seven times as many appear in August compared to May or June. Yet these beleaguered birds are merely taking advantage of food we carelessly provide. (There’s no such thing as ‘seagulls’, either. They’re just gulls.) Two species in particular attract people’s ire: the herring gull and its smarter, yellow-legged close relative, the lesser black-backed gull. Both are conspicuous, both increasingly seen in city centres. However, our biggest, and arguably most thuggish, gull ironically gets…

Forming a network of some 3,800km in length, the canals that criss-cross the UK have the superficial appearance of constrained streams or rivers. But crucially, a lack of strongly flowing water and consequential absence of currents and bankside erosion means the aquatic habitat of the canal has far more in common with standing water and ponds than it does with other, natural watercourses. Canals were first conceived by the Romans as a means of transporting goods, but it wasn’t until the height of the Industrial Revolution that construction really took off. But since the 1960s, with the advent of rail transport and road haulage, canals have slowly become redundant as a method of moving cargo. Indeed, the habitat may have been doomed altogether, had it not taken on a new…

“The UK has some of the most widlife-depleted seas in the world.” Groundbreaking Government plans to introduce a new class of increased protection for the seas around England are being hailed as a major victory by wildlife and environmental campaigners. Following the independent Benyon Review, an introductory series of five Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) are set to be designated by the Government next year, with the aim of restoring the depleted marine environment. “This new type of marine protection will be the gold standard for rewilding parts of the sea,” said Joan Edwards, director of policy at the Wildlife Trusts and a review panel member. “This is an historic moment and we’re certain that HPMAs will help our seas become healthier and that degraded underwater habitats will be better…

WHAT IS IT? It’s an underground-dwelling frog, and one of three new Synapturanus species. The call of the male can only be heard during or after heavy rainfall. To find the animals, scientists need to dig them out of the ground using their bare hands (usually getting soaked in the process). It’s this rather eerie scenario that has given rise to the name Synapturanus zombie. WHERE IS IT? All three frog species are found in an incredibly biodiverse region of South America known as the Guiana Shield. The scientists believe there may be six times as many Synapturanus species than have been described so far. FIND OUT MORE Zoologischer Anzeiger: bit.ly/ZombieFrog…

While we are fighting to save our rapidly dwindling hedgehog population in Britain (down from 30 million in the 1950s to fewer than 1 million today), conservationists in New Zealand are trying to get rid of them. The difference, of course, is that hedgehogs are native to Britain, but they are ‘accidental tourists’ in New Zealand, shipped out to remind homesick settlers of their gardens back home (it’s an irony that they are now two-a-penny in New Zealand, while most of those gardens back home haven’t seen a hedgehog in years). In the good old days, New Zealand’s native birds, reptiles and insects lived the life of Riley, safe in the knowledge that there were no predatory mammals to eat them. But then settlers arrived and unleashed a menagerie of…

Ecologists have tried a variety of methods for monitoring Britain’s most elusive rodent. None is perfect by any means, and nest surveys remain the most reliable method, even if it means surveyors go years without seeing a live wild specimen. TRAPPING Good-sized harvest mice do turn up in Longworth traps used in small mammal surveys, but smaller individuals can easily enter without triggering them. The risk of false negatives makes trapping unreliable for monitoring purposes. TENNIS BALL A tennis ball with a 15mm hole ( below ) and baited with millet allows access to harvest mice and can be examined for droppings or feeding signs. SNIFFER DOG In 2015, Tui the flat-coated retriever ( above ) was trained to detect harvest mice by smell and could indicate whether a bait…

Years ago, during a field trip to the Scottish island of Cumbrae, I came face to face with a stout bobtail squid. As I watched, rapt, the tiny mollusc blushed from ghostly pale to deep red and back again, like a magic performance. But this was no illusion. Squid are part of a whole spectrum of species that are able to change colour – an ability that comes with several speed settings. At its more relaxed end there is a handful of birds and mammals – including the Arctic fox, willow ptarmigan and snowshoe hare – that undergo a seasonal whitening triggered by waning day length. The transformation occurs as pigment disappears from fur and feathers. In mammal fur, this makes space for more air, which provides the added bonus…

Hesitantly, I reached my jittery hand into the termite mound, coaxed by my field guide to pull out one of the tiny, plump insects. Going against all of my natural instincts, I put the miniscule bug into my mouth and began to chew. While the termites did not deliver the promised taste of peanut butter, I had to admit that these little creatures did pack a salty punch that wasn’t entirely unpleasant. My apprehension about eating them had absolutely nothing to do with their taste or texture, but everything to do with my preconceived ideas about eating bugs. It got me thinking. Where have these ideas come from? In a world where we eat birds, mammals and even sea creatures such as prawns – themselves referred to as ‘insects of…

ALEX HYDE The award-winning wildlife photographer explores the Sefton Coast. “It’s incredible to me that this dynamic dune system flourishes so close to such centres of industry,” he says. See p44 LALY LICHTENFELD The co-founder of African People & Wildlife has been working to protect the livestock of the Massai people. “These communities have an incredible amount of tolerance for large mammals roaming through their backyards,” she says. See p28 AMY-JANE BEER “Woven from living strips of leaf blade, harvest mouse nests are beautifully camouflaged” says the naturalist. She finds out how the public are helping to record their wherabouts. See p38 MARK WATSON The comedian on his love of kingfishers and why their habitat needs saving. “They are magnificent birds,” he says. “I love the dramatic way they swoop…

The recolonisation of old haunts by grey wolves across Europe and North America is apparently having the unexpected effect of making roads safer. That’s the finding from a new study showing that the predators reduce traffic collisions with deer to the point that the economic gains vastly outweigh the costs of any livestock losses. Wolves were hunted almost to extinction in the USA (excluding Alaska) by the 1960s. But legal protection allowed them to start reclaiming lost territory from the 1970s. The new research gathered data on the rates of deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) as packs recolonised the state of Wisconsin, where DVCs cost almost $200 million per year, not to mention the associated human casualties. “We show that, for the average county, wolf entry reduced DVCs by 24 per cent,…

Biologists have stumbled upon evidence of a mysterious mass extinction of sharks 19 million years ago, which may have cleared the way for the evolution of modern whales. “We happened upon this extinction almost by accident,” said Elizabeth Sibert of Yale University. She and a colleague had been looking at historical shark populations by studying the occurrence of shark ‘scales’ (called dermal denticles) buried in sediment. “We decided to generate an 85-million-year-long record of fish and shark abundance, just to get a sense of what the normal variability of that population looked like in the long term,” she said. “What we found, though, was this sudden drop-off in shark abundance.” The event wiped out 90 per cent of individuals and 70 per cent of species (more than twice as many…

Long-term absences of harvest mice can be addressed by the release of captive-bred individuals. At the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate in Somerset, harvest mice have been released as part of Riverlands, a major habitat restoration effort. In 2019, 198 individuals were released in an ungrazed meadow comprising rough grassland, scrub and dense hedgerows. Plans for a second release in 2020 had to be put on hold, but the team has confirmed that the mice are still present, with good evidence of breeding, and hopes to pick up where it left off in 2021, with a top-up release. The National Trust is reverting to a later and more fragmentary vegetation-cutting regime in order to ensure continuity of refuges.…

“Can you name another profession that, all in a day’s work, fights wildlife crime, prevents extinction and mitigates against climate change and zoonotic disease? No, you can’t, because there isn’t one,” says Sean Willmore, managing director of ranger support charity the Thin Green Line Foundation (TGLF). “Wildlife rangers are the missing link in saving our planet.” Global biodiversity loss has reached unprecedented levels, with one million species estimated to be threatened with extinction. Protected areas are key to saving wildlife, but they cannot function without rangers. Whether on the icy wastes of Russia’s Wrangel Island, where they prevent conflict between polar bears and people; on the ragged slopes of Mongolia’s Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, where they’re camera-trapping snow leopards; or in the high fells of our very own Lake District,…

TV choice A relaxing countryside stroll with Packham  Join the naturalist and presenter in Hampshire as he revisits an enjoyable springtime walk from his childhood. CHRIS PACKHAM: THE WALK THAT MADE ME CATCH UP ON BBC IPLAYER The start of Chris Packham’s latest programme is a tad different to his usual documentaries. Rather than standing in a field somewhere in the UK or in the bush somewhere in Africa, this one kicks off in his kitchen with his gorgeous poodles, where he introduces the programme and explains that, without the normal film crew available due to pandemic restrictions, he is using a 360-degree, hand-held camera to record his walk. “It’s not any old walk, it’s a really important walk to me. I’m going to be following in my distant footsteps,…

“Viewing each person in turn, his gaze settled on me.” Despite the number of safaris under my belt, I will always fondly remember the time when I inadvertently became the centre of attention. It was a case of the observer becoming the observed. Seeing wildlife in its own habitat provides unforgettable experiences and I’ve found some of the most authentic encounters occur when you leave the confines of the 4WD behind and explore on foot. Walking safaris are a humbling way to connect to the surroundings, putting you on the same level as the animals. My walking safari in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve in South Africa was led by Nunu Jobe, a.k.a. The Rhino Whisperer. With a reputation as a highly experienced trail ranger, I knew I was in extremely…

Star attraction This kaleidoscopic mix of colours and shapes is a small brittlestar draped over the venomous spines of a fire urchin, and was photographed during a night dive off the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. The brittlestar is an echinoderm, closely related to starfish, and a scavenger on coral reefs. As it feeds away on debris – which helps to keep the reef spick and span – it is afforded protection by the formidable weaponry of its host. Winged wonder Regular summer visitors to Europe from Africa, pallid swifts nest on cliff-faces and buildings and can feed, drink and even mate on the wing. This individual was captured in Athens, Greece, its swooping aerial display punctuated by high-speed dives into the water to catch invertebrates. Pallid swifts have paler plumage…

Water vole More frequently heard than seen, this charming waterside mammal will often escape with a ‘plop’ into the water when sensing disturbance. Plump and with a rich brown pelage, its large, rounded head should help distinguish it from the brown rat. Vastly reduced in numbers due primarily to predation by invasive American mink, spotting a water vole will be the highlight of any day walking on a towpath. Kingfisher No larger than a sparrow, the bright orange and iridescent blue plumage of our native kingfisher makes it one of our most instantly recognisable birds. Often seen whizzing straight and low over the water, the key to catching the rapid fly-by is to listen for its shrill ‘chree’ or ‘chee-kee’ whistle. Floating water plantain Very localised along stretches of nutrient-poor…

On one small Australian island, the plan to save one species has come at a great cost to others. Introduced Tasmanian devils have devastated populations of seabirds, including a colony of little penguins. Tasmanian devils were introduced to Maria Island in 2012 as an insurance population that was geographically isolated from others, and free from the contagious and fatal devil facial tumour disease. However, a government survey now shows the population of little penguins is low, while conservationists say the colonies have disappeared. “We are seeing increasing frequency of threats to penguins in mainland colonies,” says Eric Woehler, convenor of BirdLife Tasmania. “These offshore islands are refugia for penguins and other seabirds and shorebirds, so the loss of 3,000 little penguin breeding pairs is a major blow.” Additionally, a study…

WATCH A PRESS conference following the signing of a prominent British footballer by a European club and you might be fortunate to witness a fascinating – not to mention hilarious – linguistic phenomenon. The player in question is likely to answer questions with a distinct, generic European accent, with the result that they sound something like a Dutch person speaking English. (Well, it’s probably more polite than just shouting.) But it’s not only humans who feel the need to modify their accent according to the social situation in which they find themselves. Research published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology shows that tamarin monkeys in Brazil do something rather similar. While red-handed tamarins range across much of the Amazon, Critically Endangered pied tamarins are found only in a small…

“In the Netherlands, salmon was once seen as food for the poor,” says Herman Wanningen, founder of the World Fish Migration Foundation and the Dam Removal Europe movement. “There was a lot of salmon in the 1600s and 1700s, and people didn’t want to eat it every day. Millions of the fish travelled in from the sea and up rivers through the delta on their way to Germany and the Swiss Alps.” Then came a dramatic change to the rich riverscape with the Delta Works in the mid-1900s; a series of construction projects in the south-west Netherlands to protect the area of delta surrounding the rivers Rhine, Schelde and Maas. “The Dutch say ‘we’re proud of how we managed the delta. We built dams, sluices, dykes, locks and levees, to…

Ecologist Steve Kirk has a nose for harvest mice – or, more precisely, for the places they live. “You can be driving along with him,” says Suzanne Kynaston of the Wildwood Trust, “and he’ll suddenly shout ‘Stop the car!’ and jump out, and within minutes he’s found a nest in the verge.” It’s a remarkable skill: harvest mouse nests are notoriously difficult to find. Woven from living strips of leaf blade, they are beautifully camouflaged. But Steve insists there’s no trick to it, just a keen eye and insight honed by years of experience. As grass-stalk zone specialists, they spend their lives feeding, sleeping and breeding without ever descending to the ground. The popular image of the harvest mouse is of a tiny creature clinging to a stem of golden…

ALEX HYDE is an award-winning wildlife photographer based in the Peak District.alexhyde.co.uk • More info on the project: naturebftb.co.uk/ the-projects/gems-in-the-dunes…

With climate patterns changing, the chances of a mismatch become increasingly likely for seasonally whitening species. A recent study of mountain hares in Scotland found that the timing of their moult has hardly changed when compared with data from the 1950s, despite there now being a shorter season of snow cover. A similar pattern has been seen in their American cousin, the snowshoe hare, which can also be seen gleaming against a snowless mountain backdrop. The main trigger to moult is changing day-length, and these species now face about a month sporting the wrong coat colour for their surrounding habitat, making them increasingly conspicuous to predators. The same problem is seen in seasonally whitening birds, but there is evidence of behavioural adaptations that may reduce their vulnerability: male rock ptarmigans,…

1 HOW CAN FIRE HELP PLANTS? Fire may seem a destructive force, but for some plants, it can be helpful. In wildfire-prone lands, a blaze can bring fresh vitality by recycling and boosting nutrients, and bestowing space and light. For some species, fire also confers a competitive advantage. In lodgepole pines, for example, seed cones hang high in the canopy, their scales firmly sealed with resin. Only the heat of a forest fire can melt the glue, ensuring the seeds fall on ash-enriched ground. 2 HOW DO THEY SURVIVE IT? Many plants have adapted to tolerate fire. For example, larch, eucalyptus and some species of pine have thick, fire-retardant bark; the South African aloe has dense, insulating leaves; and Banksia bushes are equipped with starchy, fire-resistant growths (known…