Indian Wildlife Club Forum

“Seventy percent of the world is ocean and eighty percent of global biodiversity is in it. We need to take care of the ocean. No matter where we are, we depend on it.”
–Wallace J. Nichols

 
Wallace J. Nichols does much of his turtle research in Baja California, Mexico.

For at least 150 million years, sea turtles have roamed the Earth’s oceans. This makes them at least 858 times older than the first Homo sapiens. Survivors of the mass extinction that wiped dinosaurs out, enduring lengthy travels along the sea and fighting heavy predation that results in survival statistics of about one in a thousand, they have managed to stay around. That is, until now. Out of the seven species of marine turtles in the world, six feature as endangered or critically endangered in the Red List of Threatened Species, a list compiled by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and updated every year with the best available scientific information. Humans bear direct responsibility.

Source: http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3987

Music in Nature Part 4: The Power of Music

I was shocked and saddened in early November with the news of an ecological disaster in the San Francisco Bay. Learning that the tragedy could have been prevented made me downright angry. I made it up to the Bay Area over Thanksgiving and on the way back stopped by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. My friend there told me about the video the Ocean Conservancy put out illustrating the fact that this accident was a "Preventable Tragedy." While very informative (and mind boggling why such a tragedy wasn’t prevented) it lacked something. It seemed slow. It needed music! Inspired, I spent a few hours putting together a track for them. I emailed the Ocean Conservancy and by the next morning the sparks were flying. I’m thrilled to be involved in such a project with such a wonderful organization. It just goes to show you - the power of music in film is endless and the power of being proactive can pay off huge. It feels great to make a difference doing what I love.

To view the original movie without music goto: http://youtube.com/watch?v=QETWumARv6c

To view the version with music (and a few added zooms, etc.) goto: http://youtube.com/watch?v=txR4B6padQQ

To learn more about the spill goto: www.oceanconservancy.org/SFspill

Cody Westheimer is a composer living in Los Angeles, CA. To learn (and hear) more about Cody go to www.CodyWestheimer.com or email him at cody@codywestheimer.com

Source: http://www.wildlife-film.com

Send in a wildlife photo to a newspaper

The common use of affordable digital cameras have indirectly helped conservation and wildlife issues. It is easier than ever to click a newsworthy photo and send it to a paper! and as you will observe, photographs are vocal and make people think.

Trek on Foot!

Long-distance hiking is incredibly romantic — the idea of spending weeks
or months at a time in some of the most beautiful backcountry areas in the
world is almost universally appealing, especially when contrasted to the
fluorescent lights, traffic jams, and overwhelming email inboxes of modern
life. But long-distance newbies need to realize that the reality of
long-distance hiking is not always pleasant: you can’t just “float” by like
you can in “the real world” — there are always miles to be walked, stormy
weather to fend off, fatigue and soreness to treat, discomforts to cope
with, etc. You have to earn the “Beautiful moments” — the sunsets, wildlife
encounters, 12,000-foot ridgewalks, and trail magic from generous locals.
If you understand the work-to-reward ratio of long-distance hiking, and if
you’re okay with it, you’ll have much more success and you’ll enjoy yourself
much more.

For new trekkers:
1. Familiarise yourself with all that you can read about the place.
2. Read trip reports by others
3. Develop skills, become more familiar with your gear and
maps/guidebook, and understand better the terrain and weather. Ideally go
with a more experienced backpacker who can transfer knowledge they have
learned from others and from their trials and errors.

Visiting the Zoo

A colorful campaign aimed at parents and children is playing up the “wild” in the premier attractions owned and operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Those attractions are the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn. A new agency, Deutsch, is encouraging potential visitors to “Go wild” in a campaign with a budget estimated at $7 million — and, as the elephants at the zoo might say, that’s hardly peanuts.

 The campaign includes television and radio commercials; signs and posters; print advertisements; trading cards bearing pictures of animals, which are of course called “wild cards”; and a Web site where computer users are invited to “build your wild self” and forward the images to friends.

With species going extinct at an alarming rate, wildlife protection is possible only if the adults who are now in charge, do their bit. 
While the ad companies are doing a good job of attracting kids, can they do something to make "visiting the zoo" serious adult business too?

National Parks

National Parks around the world need to get more media space than they get today. These Parks hold the key to the future of mankind- with rare species of animals, birds, plants and aquatic life waiting to be explored.

India has 85 National Parks and 450 wildlife sanctuaries.

Big Bend National Park (Texas)

"Off we were looking to get away, relax, enjoy nature, and forget about the daily distractions of life. I called a Texas Park Ranger to be our family trip planner hoping she could point out the best Texas RV Park. She suggested.....

Read the full report at

http://blog.tripwiser.com/roadtrip/2007/11/texas-road-trip.html

Oil Spill

This week, November 2007, a massive storm swept into the Black Sea, sinking dozens of ships and breaking apart a Russian oil tanker. Over 1,890,000 litres of thick fuel oil was spilled and initial reports suggest some 30,000 birds may have been killed. Thousands more are covered in oil and face death in the coming weeks.

Over 50 kilometres of Russian coastline are impacted by this oil spill, including critical habitat for migrating and wintering birds.

Open University Films

Here is an initiative by the Open University of Britain, well worth emulating by our own Indira Gandhi National Open University!

An epic journey across the length and breadth of Britain is continuing with The Nature of Britain, co-produced by The Open University and currently showing on BBC ONE, BBC TWO and BBC FOUR.

Presented by Alan Titchmarsh, The Nature of Britain concentrates on the unique ecology of different landscapes and eco-systems throughout the UK and the diverse behaviour of the animals and plants that live in them. During his journey, Alan shares his enthusiasm for the British wildlife, encouraging viewers to step outside and explore the natural history on their doorstep.

The series features eight key landscapes - Island; Farmland; Urban; Freshwater; Coastal; Woodland; Wilderness and Secret Britain. It paints a beautiful contemporary portrait of Britain’s wildlife and provides the definitive guide to The Nature of Britain.

............

"Wildlife is marvellous on TV but our local natural world is fascinating too. Every time I observe wildlife I see something - a plant, an animal, a pattern of behaviour, which I have not seen before. You don’t have to be a zoologist to experience this and the series shows some of the special things right on our doorsteps. The regional films will be great for informing viewers of what they can do locally to experience the natural world themselves and of how they can make a difference."

Source:  http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/SG9yci1FbXB0LVNpbmctSG9yci1UaGlyLVplcm8=

Cross posting from Water Community (se-wes@solutionexchange-un.net.in)

Please visit the homepage of ILEC (International Lake Environment Committee, Japan):

 http://www.ilec.or.jp/eg/index.html.

I was a Recipient, Ibaraki Kasumigaura Lake Prize, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and I found that the site has many useful publications, world lake database, a journal and conference information. 

 1. See if the lake receives discharge from ground water or it recharges the aquifer. In the later case, a polluted lake can pollute ground water.

 2. The quality of lake water varies within the lake, laterally and vertically. If possible, have at least one sampling point per Km of lakeshore. Vertical sampling in the lake centre may be done twice a year, after Monsoon rains (October) and end of summer (May).

3. Initially, just concentrate on basic parameters like Temperature, TDS, Ph, E Coli, Heavy metals, Nitrates, Nitrites, BOD, COD, DOC and Trihalomethanes.

Best wishes,

Shrikant D Limaye

Ground Water Institute Pune